Starstream City
by Soul of the Witch
Summary: Starstream City - An artificial city meant to expand living space. After seeing no use due to lack of support, enter two college dropouts. Struggling to make ends meet, they form a contest in the city, winner take all. In a competition with no teams and where survival and strategy are paramount, who will be crowned king? Fuz Comp
1. Paradise City

**Author's Note: 6 years ago, before there was even 100 stories in this section, I had wrote a Total Pokemon Island. It was… very mediocre. Seriously, only like five characters out of near 40 had any personality. But now, I'm older, more mature, and a more talented writer, so I'm ready to dip my toes back into the waters of writing here. Hopefully, it turns out well.**

* * *

We open up on the sky, which is shining bright and blue, not a cloud in the sky, much like any perfect start to summer. The cameras pan down, and a what looks to be a metropolitan city comes to view. Skyscrapers lining the horizon, roads and buildings as far as the eye could see, even a nice, sandy beach along the coast. Despite all of this, it looked abandoned, empty, as if nobody had used it in years.. In the front of the shoreline lies a small wooden dock, with two figures sitting at the edge, their legs hanging off the side. One figure turns to the other and begins to speak.

"It's about time for them to get here, you about ready to start?" they say, it is a masculine voice. This voice in question belonged to a small, purple gremlin like creature, jewels encrusted several parts of its body, including making up its face with several diamonds of varying sizes. His partner makes a noise of acknowledgement, shrugging their shoulders,

"As ready as I can be I suppose, I'm just praying nothing goes wrong," is what the feminine voice replies. This one belongs to a yellow, woman-like creature around the same size as her partner. Her yellow furry spreads out at the bottom, almost resembling a dress. Most bizarrely, however, is at the back of her head rests a massive pair of gray, vicious looking jaws. Her response caused the gremlin to chuckle softly,

"Kekeke, come on Lizzy, you gotta lighten up, how many normal Pokemon like us can claim to be running one of these shows?" He offered his companion, to which she only gazed at him and sighed lightly.

 **-Elizabeth Stone, Age 25, Female. Species: Mawile. Label: Host-**

"That's another thing," Elizabeth began, turning to her companion, "I wanna maintain an air of professionalism here, so I'm only 'Lizzy' when nobody else is around, got it, Travis?"

If Travis could roll his eyes, he would at this moment, "Yeah, yeah, I know…"

 **-Travis Rose, Age 23, Male. Species: Sableye. Label: Co-Host-**

Suddenly, on the horizon the two spotted a faint white smudge approaching, gray smoke filtering out from the top. "Welp, that's them," Travis grunted, lifting himself upwards, "Wonder how they're all getting along in there, anyhow?" as he questions this, the camera pans back to the sky.

* * *

The camera pans down, revealing that said smudge was in fact a large cruise ship making its way towards the city. Several Pokemon could be seen dotting the ship as we make our way into one of the windows, revealing a small cabin, where one such Pokemon was seated on the floor. This Pokemon was a small, blue-green humanoid creature, with a head larger than the body, and three glowing lights on each hand. They were currently engrossed in a rather large looking textbook, focused only on that until a voice called out to them, "Hiya! What's that you're reading there?"

As the creature looked up, they were greeted with another small Pokemon. This one resembled some sort of feline, half blue and half black, with two large ears, and a star shaped tail. Interestingly, they also had a yellow cape of sorts draped over their back and sides, and, based on the voice, seemed to be female. This new face had a bright smile on their face as they continued talking, "I'm Macy Allyn, nice to meet you! I was hoping to make some early friends on the ride here and saw you all alone. What's your name?"

 **-Macy Allyn, Age 13, Female. Species: Shinx. Label: Silly Sweetheart-**

The extraterrestrial blinked for a bit before replying and gesturing to their book, "This? I was just studying up on astrology, specifically supernovas, that kind of stuff has always been a huge interest of mine." she (as evidenced by her voice) then thought to herself before continuing, "My name, by the way, is Nora Wilson, pleased to meet you as well."

 **-Nora Wilson, Age 15, Female. Species: Elgyem. Label: Petite Prodigy-**

Shortly after this, Nora tilted her head slightly to give herself a better view of the cape that Macy had on, "Mind if I ask what the cape is about?"

The Shinx brushed a paw up on it, looking back at it fondly, "Nothing special, it's just a little gift my grandfather gave me as a real little kid that I never leave home without. It used to be a blanket until I got too big for that."

The two continued to converse and get to know each other as another figure sneaked into the room. This one was about the same size, but had the appearance of a dark blue-green floating head, resembling that of a woman's, the 'hair' of this figure was highlighted at the end with pink, and around the neck was a red bead necklace. Macy and Nora noticed this newcomer, who felt their eyes staring, "Oh, don't mind me, I'm just here for a little R&R. I'll be quiet." was all that the female sounding voice said before sinking into a bed facing the window, "Name's Margaret, if you were wondering," was the last thing said before she began attempting to drift off into sleep, gazing out at the window the camera had been peering into moments before.

 **-Margaret Roth, Age 18, Female. Species: Misdreavus. Label: Enigmatic Goth-**

The other two girls shrugged this off, and continued chatting animatedly as the camera panned out of the scene and began heading to another.

* * *

The camera comes up to the deck, the faint sounds of pacing and a male voice muttering are heard coming near by. Closer inspection reveals that the source of this noise belongs to a yellow bull like creature. Rather large and muscular in appearance, with an impressive set of horns to boot. He possessed a brown mane of fur around his neck, and three tails whipping about in the wind. "Alright Will, just get it together, you can do this," the bull, now revealed as Will was thinking out loud, "This is what the therapist was preparing you for. You've made good progress, and you can do thi-" Before he could finish though, he was cut off by another male voice asking "Uh, everything alright there buddy?"

 **-William "Will" Garrett, Age 23, Male. Species: Tauros. Label: Temper Control-**

"YOOOW! Who in the hell said that!?" The Tauros suddenly began stampeding around, in a panic searching for the seemingly invisible voice. Until finally, the voice spoke up again,

"Down here," Will stopped himself and looked down and to his side. There, he saw the other man that had interrupted him. This newcomer looked to be little more than a small mass of sand with a gaping hole for a mouth, and a shovel embedded into the top of its 'head'.

"Oh, uh, sorry about that," Will started sheepishly, a faint red blush coming from his face, "I didn't see you there…"

Were the sand clump able to shrug, he would, "It happens all the time, don't worry," he replied, seemingly indifferent, "But uh, you didn't really answer my question. You all good? You were speaking like one of those weird motivational videos. I'm Garth, by the way."

 **-Garth Sanders, Age 17, Male. Species: Sandygast. Label: Unnoticed Guy-**

"Yeah, about that," Will began to explain, "Well, us Tauros have always been known for being very wild, aggressive and prone to outraging. I've always wanted to try my best to get over that, and my whole joining here was mostly to see how well I'd control myself in a really stressful situation like this game," Garth listened intently, nodding once the bull was finished,

"Suppose that's as good a reason as any, I just wanted to get out of the house," was his response to Will's story. "I'll try not to ruin your progress then, last thing I need is a raging bull with me at the top of his shit list." Will nodded to this response, a faint smile coming on to his face,

"Yeah, that'd be appreciated," was the last thing either said as the camera began panning out once again.

* * *

This time, we cut to the very top of the boat, where a lone figure stood, facing forward, with eyes directed at Will and Garth in the distance, as they were able to overhear the conversation. This character resembled some sort of four legged beast, canine like in appearance. They had fur white and pure as snow all over, and parts that were not covered revealed a black skin tone. On its head laid a menacing blade like horn, matched by the one serving as its tail. Its face bore a small smirk, and a low, deep and masculine chuckle escaped this newcomers lips,

"And so the time has finally come…" he began, his voice remaining low and smooth, hardly above a whisper, "We soon shall set foot upon this next chapter of our lives, and so I shall serve as the vessel of sin. Already I can see one perfect morsel ripe with grief and fear within their soul," his eyes were directed solely on Will as he said this, "Hell is near. Thou must be prepared to be cast into thy depths of complete agony and suffering. I, Sidney Rozzweld, will set forth the darkness of complete sorrow. Mark thy words." Sidney let out another low chuckle, as the camera began zooming away, and his attention turned out to the sea.

 **-Sidney Rozzweld, Age 27, Male. Species: Absol. Label: Sinister Sadist-**

* * *

Within the cabins, the kitchen to be specific, there was a figure seated at a dining table, a plate to the front of them which seemed to have a sandwich in front of them. Like Sidney, this figure seemed to be a canine of some sort, albeit much larger and bulkier than the dark bladed one prior. Orange in color with black stripes and patches of cream color fur, one would almost think it was a large tiger based on appearance. They paid little mind to their meal, instead looking out the window.

"I wonder what mom's up to now. Is she even watching this?" came the voice, a female one, "This was her idea after all, I would expect her to. I just know I can't let her down, or she'll never forgive me, especially since this is gonna be on TV…"

"Parent issues I take it?" Spoke out another unseen voice, this one male. The suddenness of it caused the dog to jump out of her seat with a frightened yelp, falling to the floor. Upon recovering, she looked up, and was face to face with quite the odd specimen that had suddenly sat across from her. The best way to describe the creature was that of a yellow goblin. A long proboscis on its face, a scruff of fine white hair along its neck, and in one of its human esque hands seemed to be a pendulum. Once she composed herself, the dog responded,

"Where did you come from?" Was what she asked, and the goblin mulled it over

"Well, contextually, that is a hard question to answer. Technically I came from my father's genitalia, and was sent into my mother's, where promptly I was released 9 months later in a hospital in located in… Western Goldenrod, I believe. Yes." he seemed oblivious to the girl's disgusted face,

"N-not what I meant." She responded, which was met with a chuckle,

"I suppose you mean where I came from in relation to this here vessel? Same as you really, once the ship was in my locale, I boarded it on the dock, wandered and mingled with others, and saw you by your lonesome and knew I hadn't properly introduced myself." From his neck scruff he pulled out what looked to be a business card, "My card, feel more than welcome to keep it, my significant sunflower."

Ignoring the compliment, she looked at the card, "Dr. Sleep, PhD?"

 **-Dr. Sleep, Age 29, Male. Species: Hypno. Label: ?-**

"At your service! I specialize in the field of neurosurgery, with expertise in psychology as well. Feel free to give me a call whenever it is of convenience dear." He smiled, though the dog could not tell if it was genuine or not.

"Uh, right, I'm not from Johto but I will keep that in mind, I guess." She stated unsurely, "My name is, uh, Yang."

 **-Yang Shirubamari, Age 17, Female. Species: Arcanine. Label: Tryhard Tomboy-**

"Well met then, Yang! Your region matters not as I am more than willing to travel right to your home for all your surgery and or psychological needs." Dr. Sleep responded, not missing a single beat.

"Uh, thanks?" was the response he was met with from Yang, as confused as she was when she started the conversation.

* * *

At another part of the deck, there was a pink insect resting on a beach chair, a tanning mirror in their blade like arms. They were of decent size, with red eyes that almost looked as if they were covered by sunglasses. As the bug continued their soaking up the sun, they heard a nearby male voice, "Excuse me miss, would you mind if I took the seat next to you,"

The mantis lowered their mirror to find the source of the voice belonged to a large, white tree like creature, whose limbs were a shade of green. Notably, their face showed a decent amount of age to it. The bug shrugged, and gestured to the chair next to them, "Go right ahead," they spoke, being female, "It is no issue of mine,"

As the tree took their seat, the insect turned to their new acquaintance with a question in mind, "Forgive my rudeness," She began, eyeing his face, "But I can not help but notice that you seem quite a lot older than the others I have seen on this boat,"

The tree let out a low, yet hearty laugh, "Yeah, sixty-seven years of age will do that I suppose." was all that he said in response, seemingly taking no offense. Then he offered out his hand to her, "I'm Winston, Winston Blueford. Pleased to make your acquaintance." She happily accepted his handshake, which was firm, yet gentle.

 **-Winston Blueford, Age 67, Male. Species: Abomasnow. Label: Wise Elder-**

"The pleasure is all mine, my name is Alexandria Hailey." she returned with, smiling softly.

 **-Alexandria Hailey, Age 20, Female. Species: Lurantis. Label: Introverted Insect-**

"I suppose it may be my turn to be rude now," started Winston as he gazed upon Alexandria curiously, "Forgive me for my intrusiveness, but have we met before? You look strikingly familiar."

The Lurantis cocked her head at this claim, "I can not say I recall you unfortunately," she cleared her throat a bit before continuing, "Where, uh, where did you think you recognized me from?"

Winston thought it over for a bit, "I can't say for certain, since a lot of faces blend together at this age, but I just had a feeling after getting a good look at you, maybe I'm confusing you for somebody else," he shrugged and then folded his hands behind his head, relaxing down in his seat. Alexandria looked over to him, then back to herself, sighing softly before picking her mirror back up.

* * *

In the lower deck, a long, white and purple weasel like creature was sitting along some crates, boredly sketching into a notepad. Their arms resembled that of sleeves and across their face was a rather bored, neutral expression. Upon closer examination, it seemed that they were drawing what appeared to be a comic of some sorts. Suddenly, as they finished up their strokes with the pencil, their eyes darted up to another figure who was standing in the doorway, "I wasn't expecting someone else to be so far down here, I thought they would all be up mingling." were the words that came from this newcomers gruff, coarse voice of a male.

The weasel looked closer at the figure in the darkness, and they were quite the imposing specimen. A large and menacing land shark, with blades for hands and scars all across his body, wings and fins on his limbs, and, interestingly, a toothy, grin that seemed to have little malice in it. The minx on the other hand, sighed and closed their notepad, "I was hoping that I could find myself alone down here, where nobody would want to talk," their voice also seemed to be that of a male, though much higher pitched than the shark's, who chuckled in response,

"Is that right? I'm down here because it just seems just so fitting for such a low life like me," he stepped out of the darkness further, his demeanor not changing, "The name's Krieg Hoxton, but that's enough about me, what of you?"

 **-Krieg Hoxton, Age 32, Male. Species: Garchomp. Label: Affable Outlaw-**

"Nobody," was what Krieg's acquaintance responded with, "I'm not really interested with mingling with the others. I tend to just hate being around other people," he was hoping this would be taken as a sign to leave, but Krieg persisted,

"And why is that? I could get it if you were like me, but you seem to not be such a bad guy," Krieg then gave another low chuckle, half friendly, but also half challenging, "Unless of course you've done something to make me believe otherwise"

There was only a sigh in response, "Well, at least you actually got it right that I'm a guy, not many people can claim that part when the first meet me. So quick to assume." he shook his head, trying to ease his thoughts, "Fine then, Morgan is my name."

 **-Morgan Mercer, Age 21, Male. Species: Mienshao. Label: Feisty Femboy-**

"Ah, so that's the reason eh?" Krieg questioned, his grin still not faltering, "I suppose I understand that. Lucky for me, my time in the cells made me learn quickly not to make assumptions by appearance."

"What, you're a criminal? And you just are going to admit that on TV?" Morgan rose an eyebrow at this, to which Krieg merely shrugged at,

"There's no point in hiding it if I'm already under fire for it is there? Besides, this was the warden's idea, to see if I really have changed." With that the Garchomp stepped forward again, giving a challenging, yet also joking look to the Mienshao, "Though I suppose you'll just have to find that out for yourself, won't you?"

As Krieg let out a rather hearty laugh, Morgan narrowed his eyes slightly, not sure whether to trust this one, "Riiiiight." was all he said, before the camera left them be.

* * *

Back in the cabins, there was one figure simply relaxing on a bed, hands folded behind their head, one leg crossed over the other, and a peaceful look on their face. This one had the appearance of a green, plant like ape, with its leafy "hair" styled into what looked to be a pompadour. In their admittedly large ears, were some headphones, connected to an mp3 player. All was peaceful in this contestant's mind. That is, however, until they heard somebody barging into their room. Causing them to shout out in shock, and fall off of the bed that they were lounging on.

"What in the hell!? What are you doing!?" shouted out the male monkey, as a feminine voice chuckled at his reaction,

"Just trying to test the waters of the competish," The grass monkey looked up at what was an orange weasel of sorts, a confident look on her face and a yellow inflatable tube like part around her body like a life vest. A tail on her back split into two at the end. "So far, haven't really seen anybody that's gonna give me much of a run for my money, which I'm thinking means I'm gonna run home WITH the money." She smirked at this as her companion got to his feet, unplugging his earphones.

"Well, uh, points for confidence, but can you really gauge the strengths of everybody yet? We're not even at the place." he pointed out, which was only met with a dismissive wave,

"Ah, trust me. I've been into sports and winning all my life, I know when somebody is a fighter, and when they are I go all out. That's the Tracy White way." She folded her arms, with a cocky look on her face, "Oh, and by the way, so far you really aren't seeming like too much of a fighter."

 **-Tracy White, Age 20, Female. Species: Floatzel. Label: Cocky Athlete-**

"I don't really see a point in showing off anything yet until the game starts, but sure, you do you I guess." the monkey shrugged, fixing his hair back up, "I guess if I do ever come off as a fighter, name's Joseph so you know who to look out for." This only received a snicker from Tracy however,

 **-Joseph Lyra, Age 16, Male. Species: Simisage. Label: Pure Punk-**

"Keep tellin' yourself that for now, Joey, if it helps ya sleep at night." Tracy turned around and started walking back out, "If we're on the same team, hope you don't mind a chick carrying you to the merge."

As she left, Joseph got back on the bed he was laying on and put his earphones back in, "Well, now I know that this competition isn't gonna be all relaxation with her around, good stuff." He continued to lie down as the camera made its exit.

* * *

And lastly in one of the other cabins, a conversation could be heard going on. In this room, there was a purple and yellow spotted leopard, who seemed to be on the phone, as it was at their paws, and an older looking character of the same species was on the other side, face-timing them. "Are you sure you're going to be alright out their, Clara? Just know that we're willing to pick you up, and buy you anything you could want with that money." spoke the older one, who seemed to be the other one's mother. The younger one only seemed to chuckle in response, smiling for the screen.

"That won't be necessary, mother, I've relied on you guys a bit too much, it's time for me to start trying to get more independent." she stated, then tilted her head a bit to the side, "Right, father?"

 **-Clara Redgrass, Age 18, Female: Species: Liepard. Label: Spoiled Sweet-**

A bit behind Clara's mother stood a black and grey hyena, who nodded, and had a proud look on his face, "Glad to see you acting so mature sweetie, we're real proud of you." he complimented, "We can tell already you'll do great out in the world, and in this game. From the sound of it back there, you already have a few friends with you,"

This statement confused the feline, who proceeded to ask "Friends? What do you me-" before stopping and noticing a quite noticeable amount of chatter coming from behind her. She cocked an eyebrow at this, assuming it might be time to leave. "I think it's about time to get out there, talk to you both soon, love you." she waved to the camera as her parents said their goodbyes. Once they finished, she shut her phone off, and turned to face the noise that she heard. "Now who could that have been?" she questioned, and then she noticed it, or them, rather.

Before her stood what seemed to be an ostrich with brown feathers and a pink tail. This wouldn't be too exceptional, were it not for the fact that there were not one, but three heads on the bird, all chatting animatedly, not with her, but with each other, rather. They all sounded female to Clara, and with an interest, she decided to take a listen for her own.

"And so I was like, 'uh, no, those accessories look so tacky on you girl, did you get your fashion style from a hobo?' and she started crying all the way home, I don't know why though," the left head finished, eliciting a gasp from the one in the center,

"Like, shut up, Lana, no way! I can't believe that would happen, but it sounds like I was right there, don't you think, Lisa?" the one in the center commented, turning to her right head,

"Totes, Linda, I swear I could totally see myself like, right there, that is so fetch!" she cheered, causing the other two sisters to squeal and giggle.

 **-Lisa, Linda, and Lana Lincoln, Ages 15, Females. Species: Dodrio. Label: Talkative Triplets-**

Clara decided to clear her throat, which, surprisingly, managed to get their attention, "I'm sorry to interrupt your conversation, but I was wondering what made you all come here, is it time to go yet?"

"Like, oh-em-gee I did not even realize you were there! Like, for realzies you were totes invisible, right Lana?" Lisa exclaimed, not even remotely answering Clara's question,

"Yeah, you were like, toooootally invisible, are you a ninja? I've always wanted to meet a ninja!" Lana squawked, as the three heads began to yammer on even more,

Clara looked at her phone, and out a window, before sighing softly, "I can tell this is going to be a rather long ride over there." and with that, the camera retreated out of the cabin and out to sea.

* * *

Eventually, the cameras made it back to Travis and Elizabeth, shortly after their last meetup with it, the boat now closer, Travis made a noise of dismissal and said, "Probably not so far, but hey, that oughtta make things more interesting, don'tcha think Lizzy?"

The Mawile groaned and turned to her friend and co-host, "I said cut it out with the pet names, Travis. Do you want to look unprofessional on day one?"

Travis chuckled at the Mawile's response and held his hands up, "Alright alright no more pet names, just trying to pass the time." he then noticed that Elizabeth was looking ahead rather than at him,

"They're here, let's get this show started, then." she spoke, before pulling out a megaphone, to which she spoke up quite loudly into, "Attention all contestants, when I or my co-host call out your name step off the boat and on to the dock immediately. No exceptions." she then passed off the device to Travis, who had a small piece of paper in his grasp,

"Alexandria Hailey," he called out, and within time, the Lurantis made her way off of the ship and onto the dock, greeting the two hosts, "Thank you for accepting me, I appreciate the opportunity. Hopefully, being the first one on the dock will be a good sign of things to come,"

"Eh, I doubt it, that kinda stuff just doesn't seem realistic to me," Travis shrugged, Alexandria, unsure how to respond, went to the edge of the dock as the Sableye passed the megaphone back,

"Clara Redgrass," was called, and with a graceful jump, the Liepard landed on the dock, strutting up to the two hosts,

"I can already say it's more quiet than my cabin, though I expect that won't last long." She commented, and Elizabeth glanced up at the boat,

"Judging by the contestants we have here, don't count on much quiet."

"Understood," Clara then trotted over to where Alexandria stood, "Pleasure to meet you miss, I hope to have a good competition with you," she said to the mantis, who smiled softly in return,

"I do too, it should be a fun time," the two then stood silent briefly, before the Liepard glanced at her new companion,

"Say, have we met before? I swear I've seen you somewhere, and I know a lot of people,"

"Why does everybody think that?" Alexandria pondered, as the megaphone found itself back in the hands of Travis,

"Garth Sanders," he spoke loud and clear. Oddly enough, though, nobody seemed to show up afterwards, which confused the Sableye. "Uh… I said Garth Sanders, get down here now!" he shouted, with still no response. "Where the hell is he!?" Travis whispered to Elizabeth, who was looking downwards,

"Right here," spoke out a male voice, causing Travis to look down, and right at his feet was the Sandygast he had been calling for.

Startled, Travis shouted, accidentally having it go directly into the megaphone, which made everybody cover their ears and an annoyed Elizabeth to snatch the device from his claws. "How the hell do you do that? You gotta teach me!" he exclaimed, still in shock

Garth shook his head in response, "Probably has something to do with being just a lump of sand. Can't exactly teach that." He then looked at the dock, and where everybody was standing, "Speaking of being sand, that kinda complicates this whole going to the end of the dock thing."

"Can't you just phase through it like other ghosts can?" Travis raised an eyebrow, which only led to another shake of the hand,

"It's a lot more difficult for my kind than other ghosts, since we gotta make sure every little grain of sand is intangible. Takes up a lotta energy."

Travis looked to Elizabeth, who still had her usual look of disinterest on her face, "Uh, what should we do here? Can't really have him stand here the whole time."

"How should I know?" She asked, giving him a shrug, "You're the ghost type here, figure it out."

Travis groaned, and started sinking into the dock by turning intangible. Sticking his hand under the Sandygast, he was able to turn that tangible and lift Garth up, carrying him over to the others and setting him down. He then rose out of the ground, popping his back, "That oughtta get annoying after a while. Onto the next contestant." He then moved over to Elizabeth, who had the megaphone in her hands now,

Gareth looked between the two ladies between him, without much of an interest. "Nice meeting you two, don't worry about me getting in the way, you won't even know I'm there most of the time." He stated, causing Clara and Alexandria to share a confused glance,

"Um, duly noted?" the feline offered, not sure what to make of the situation, as Elizabeth held up her megaphone,

"Joseph Lyra," she spoke into it, as the Simisage, who was sitting on the railing of the boat, hopped down. Unfortunately for him, he didn't realize just how high up he was and ended up landing pretty hard, and getting himself hurt a decent amount. With a cry of quick pain he fell to his side, holding his feet for comfort. Elizabeth cocked an eyebrow to this, before the monkey quickly got back up, glowing a bit.

"Synthesis, one of the advantages of being a grass type," he smirked, before reaching out his hand, "Good to finally meet you in person, though you're a lot different looking than I would've expected."

The Mawile shook his hand firmly, giving him a skeptical look, "And what exactly does that entail?" she inquired, as the Simisage gave her a nervous chuckle,

"Well, you know, I was expecting the person who is hosting this whole thing to not be somebody so shor-" He was cut off as the jaws behind Elizabeth roared and snapped at him, causing him to recoil in shock and fear, screaming slightly.

"Height means nothing, learn that well." was all she said, seeming to have an annoyed look now, which made Joseph nervously chuckle,

"I-I'm just gonna g-go over there now…" and with that he speed-walked over to the other three contestants waiting at the end. He greeted them all with a smile, "Good to meet you three, let's take this game by the horns and give it our all." He then flashed them a thumbs up, which none of them returned due to lacking the appropriate body parts to do so.

Travis chuckled at the scene that just unfolded between Elizabeth and the ape, "I thought I was supposed to be the scary one here," he mused, before grabbing the megaphone once again, "Krieg Hoxton,"

The Garchomp trudged off of the ramp leading up to the boat, with his typical grin on. "I can already tell, this is going to be one hell of a ride," he commented, bringing his eyes down to the two hosts, "Hope you aren't too uncomfortable having a petty thug like me on your show," he joked, though the two only shrugged in response. Krieg then marched up to the other contestants, "I'll be playing you all in this game starting today. Let's have some fun alright? And hope that we can end up as each other's final opponents."

Joseph flashed him another thumbs up with a claim of "You're on," while Alexandria and Clara shared a glance. Garth had no noticeable opinion.

Krieg chuckled, and stood behind everybody, sitting down on the dock and facing the ocean, watching the wild Pokemon that were swimming and flying about. This got Garth's attention, looking at the shark with interest, "Are we so boring that you're more interested in the wilds?" this got met with a shake of the head, and a sigh of amusement,

"Not at all, I just happen to have a love of wilds," Krieg explained, motioning out to the sea around them, "They're almost something to envy in a way, don't you think?"

"Should they not be the ones envious of us?" Alexandria spoke up, between the two, "Not to sound selfish or whatnot, but they are uncivilized and have nothing other than their own instincts to survive on,"

"Exactly the point," was all Krieg said before both Garth and Clara decided not to discuss it further.

"Linda, Lisa, and Lana Lincoln" Elizabeth called as the three strutted down, talking amongst themselves like earlier

"Like, Oh-em-gee, Lisa, I can't believe we're finally here! I am sooooo ready to have like, the best summer ever!" Lana exclaimed, nodding at her sisters

"I know right, I'm so surprised they picked us, it must be because we're all like, sooo pretty!" Lisa agreed, causing the sisters to all squeal and giggle again. As they did this, as well as walk to everybody else, Elizabeth turned to Travis,

"Why DID you accept them anyway? I know I had no part in that one." She questioned, leading Travis to rub the back of his head sheepishly,

"I dunno, thought it would be funny?" He noticed the judging, yet ever stoic look that he knew so well on her.

"Hey Lana, there's that super fetch cat from earlier! Heeeeeeey super fetch cat!" Linda called out to Clara, who sweat-dropped as the other heads grinned and also shouted out to her,

"Friends of yours?" Alexandria asked head tilted as the Liepard gave a rather sheepish chuckle,

"I suppose you could say that, yes," nearby, Joseph had his arms crossed with amused look at this,

"Lucky you," he joked, as nearby Elizabeth and Travis watched, the latter, realizing his friend's lack of impression,

"...Let's move on, shall we?" he chuckled nervously, grabbing the list and megaphone, "Macy Allyn,"

The Shinx quickly bounded down to the hosts, smiling widely up at them, "Thank you both so much for accepting me, I'm really happy to be here!" she told them, her eyes shining and tail wagging excitedly, Travis smiled widely, while Elizabeth nodded in return,

"Well, hopefully it will all be worth it, I suppose," Elizabeth shrugged, gesturing to the end of the dock where everybody was, to which the Shinx was happy to follow. She greeted everybody with great enthusiasm, which was mostly returned with similar positive attitudes.

"Margaret Roth," spoke Elizabeth, as the aforementioned ghost girl quickly phased from out of the ship, floating down to be eye level with the two hosts,

"So I'm just going to make this brief and save us all time," Margaret began as she looked at both hosts and contestants alike, "You really shouldn't bother with me much, I don't really wanna talk to you, you probably don't want to talk to me. Stay out of my way, and I won't be in yours? Good? Good." she didn't bother awaiting a response as she floated over to the others,

Krieg cracked a grin from where he was sitting, "I can already tell that you'll be the life of the party here, miss." he (alongside Joseph) chuckled at this, causing the Misdreavus to roll her eyes. Nearby, Garth eyed her with interest, more than he had shown the others.

"Morgan Mercer," as his name was called, the Mienshao made his way down the ramp, looking at the island with an air of disinterest around him, and then over to his contestants with the same look,

"So, THIS was the best you could manage?" he deadpanned, folding his arms, "Not very impressive, I must say."

"Eh, not the greatest budget in the world, we gotta make due." Travis shrugged, however, Elizabeth was not as nonchalant about the whole situation,

"Listen, Morgan, if you don't approve of our set up we can send you right back home," she stated, to which Morgan held up his hands, though had a bored look on his face even still,

"No need to get pissy, missy, just calling it how I see it, I can see you can't handle that," he strutted over to his fellow combatants as the Mawile balled her fists while watching him,

"I dislike him the most so far," she spoke to nobody in particular as Travis held her shoulder,

"I get it, Elizabeth, but just don't let it phase you, chances are he'll piss off the wrong person here with that attitude," Travis attempted to comfort, which his friend only made a small noise of response to,

Back with Morgan, he approached the others with a dismissive, almost bored look. He eyed them up and down, then scoffed as he strode towards the back. Krieg looked up at him grinning, "You really should brighten up you know, it's not everyday that you have a chance at being a millionaire,"

"Yeah, miss," Macy chimed in, "Would you like to talk abou-" suddenly, the Shinx was cut off by a rough slap to the face, and sent sprawling back. Morgan raised his arm back up to the position it was in, ignoring the shocked looks the others were giving only ones who weren't were Macy herself, who was trying to register what happened, the triplets, who were too occupied with themselves, and Krieg, who while not surprised like the others, had noticeably lost his usual demeanor.

"What was that about!?" Cried out Alexandria, getting in the Mienshao's face, "She was only asking you if you wanted to talk about what was bothering you!" her words seemed not to reach Morgan as he shoved past her and picked up the Shinx by the neck. He then turned to everybody else,

"Let this serve as a lesson, I am NOT to be called female, if I catch anybody making implications like that around me again, I will be a lot more ruthless." He stated, eventually dropping Macy roughly among the others. "None of you look remotely threatening except maybe the Garchomp, so if you know what's good for you, you won't get in my way." Were his last words.

Joseph knelt down to Macy, putting a hand on her, she looked up at him with fearful, teary eyes, part of her face bright red due to the force behind Morgan's attack, which was returned with a stern, yet comforting look. "Oy, you alright, little buddy?" he asked, holding a glowing palm to her cheek. Synthesis began to take effect, healing the wound.

"What did I do wrong?" asked the shaken up lioness, shivering as she looked over at Morgan, who stood away from everybody with his arms crossed,

"Don't worry about it, some people are just like that as much as it sucks." He then stood up slightly and removed his hand, "Feel any better?" he questioned, smiling softly at her, and she nodded and stuttered out a thank you, which the Simisage returned with a thumbs up.

Close by, Margaret cast a glare at the Mienshao, a look of hatred in her eyes, "What a dick," she commented, venom evident in her voice, "I wouldn't mind letting him know how something like that feels,"

Next to her, Garth replied, "I wouldn't bother with that, personally. He probably made an enemy out of just about everybody, so right off the bat his chances look pretty sour." the Misdreavus glanced down at the sand clump,

"I guess," was all she said.

Off in the distance, Krieg looked at Morgan as well, a rather neutral look on his face, "So that's how it is," he spoke to himself, a hint of curiosity about, "I must say, he will be quite the interesting one to watch develop."

Nearby, Travis let out a low whistle as he saw the whole thing take place, "I repeat," he started, turning to Elizabeth, "Gonna get his ass kicked," the Mawile said nothing, casting a cold look at Morgan. Travis decided it would be best to just call out the next contestant himself.

"Nora Wilson," was called out and the Elgyem floated out, book in hand. As she got to the hosts she waved,

"Glad to meet you two, thanks for accepting me here," she smiled, which the Sableye returned with a finger gun motion. Elizabeth, however, still looked rather annoyed, to which Nora took noticed. "Everything alright there?" she asked, which got no response from the Mawile, but Travis pointed his thumb towards Morgan. "Hm, I see."

As Nora floated over to the rest of the cast, she took notice of Margaret and Macy nearby, which she gave a smile at. Though as she went over to them she noticed the rather upset looks on both their faces, "Hey, everything good with you two? You don't seem as chipper as you were on the way here." she questioned them as well. Nearby, Garth spoke up for them,

"That guy over there kinda killed the vibe for everybody," he pointed out Morgan just like Travis did. Nora quirked an eyebrow at this, looking over at the minx.

"Hm, I see." She repeated as she took a seat and opened her book back to where she left off, sitting between her two acquaintances.

"Sydney Rozzweld," As his name was called out, the Absol gave a grin and leapt from the deck to the dock, he surveyed both the hosts and contestants a long while before chuckling to himself,

"Soon shall be the time in which I can pierce my fangs into the meat of true terror and misery, I can nearly taste the true bitterness of ruins upon my tongue." He spoke to himself, before looking at certain contestants among the crowd, "And I have around me several perfect hosts for dread, this night shall be mine to feast and enjoy." Without a word of acknowledgement to either host, he sauntered over to the rest of the contestants.

Cocking an eyebrow, Travis turned to Elizabeth and whispered to her, "He's, um, different, that's for sure." He truthfully wasn't certain what to make of Sidney. Elizabeth simply gazed at him in silence, also not fully certain what to say.

As the Absol approached the rest of the cast, his smile only grew wider during his observing the emotions of his fellow contestants, "Yes, you all seem perfect so far." Was all he said as he stood behind where Macy sat, eyeing her with curiosity.

"Tracy White," Much like Joseph before her, the Floatzel leapt from the railing, though unlike the Simisage Tracy landed on her feet without any issue. She looked towards the ape and gave a bit of a smirk at this fact, having watched earlier.

"Sup," she greeted both hosts, which was returned with a casual wave from Elizabeth

Travis on the other hand, returned with "Yo, you about ready to play?" which was met with a smirk and scoff from the weasel,

"Ready to win, more like it, I don't think I need to tell you how ready I am to take home the gold again," She boasted, causing a roll of the eyes from the Mawile, and a chuckle from Travis,

"I'll hold you to that then, good luck I guess." By this point though, Tracy had already began walking away,

"Don't need it!" she called out to him as she sauntered up to the rest of the cast, "Hey y'all, I dunno about you, but I'm ready to take you all down," She then walked up to Joseph, who was eyeing her, and, without warning, the Floatzel wrapped her arm around his neck and started rubbing her knuckles against his head, "Specially you, ya little dork!"

Joseph grunted out in discomfort, "Ow, watch it, you're messing up the hair!" he cried in protest, as Tracy released him he immediately took to fixing his hair back into style. He gave her an annoyed look as she walked over to Krieg, who was sitting off to the side,

"Ay, shark-skin!" Interested, the Garchomp turned to her as she kept up her cool demeanor, "You look pretty damn strong I gotta say, you better be able to give me a little bit of a run for my money, you hear!?"

Krieg let out a hearty laugh at this, looking down at her with a menacing grin, "Oh, I intend to go all out in this competition, glad to hear you won't have it any other way."

Tracy gave him the finger guns and smirked, "That's what I wanna hear," She then stood over by Joseph again, using his shoulder as an arm rest.

"Will Garrett," the Tauros began his descent slowly, taking his time, he seemed to be deep in thought,

"Deep breaths, Will," he muttered, still trying to motivate himself, "Just keep your cool and we'll be all good," he then finished his walk over to the hosts, nodding to them politely, "Thanks for choosing me, I think this game is gonna be just what I need,"

Elizabeth nodded to him, "Good to hear it, I read your profile and hope progress goes well for you, however I can't say I will be here to support you, unfortunately." she replied, as Will smiled in return and began walking away, Travis turned to his companion, interested,

"That might be the friendliest you've been so far, what gives?" He joked, as she closed her eyes and sighed,

"In some ways, I can relate to his experiences," Was the response, which confused the Sableye beside her

"Wait, what do you mean by tha-" Before Travis could finish, he caught himself as his eyes widened, realizing what she meant, "Ooooh, wait, I get it. Right." she nodded in his direction as she scooped up the megaphone to call down the final contestant,

Will approached the others, smiling and nodding at them all. He looked to his side and saw Sydney right next to him, smiling with a more malicious intent. Will quirked an eyebrow at this behavior, "Can I help you, man?"

"Oh trust me," Sydney mumbled, chuckling lowly, "Should all go to plan, thou shalt provide more help than one could possibly fathom."

"Yup," Will confirmed, walking over to where Alexandria and Clara were chatting, "Just gonna go put myself over somewhere else, don't even mind me,"

"Winston Blueford," In time, the Abomasnow made his way down to the dock, a calm and casual look about his face.

He waved to the hosts smiling, "Good afternoon, you two, was surprised when I saw the acceptance letter in my mail, let me tell you."

Travis smiled at him in return, "Hey, you were unique, and we were looking for unique,"

Elizabeth nodded in confirmation, "We can't really say that any others around your age group signed up,"

Winston chuckled in return, "Hey, so long as it doesn't slow me down, I don't see why not, I'm not ready to settle down for good." which both hosts nodded at,

"Respectable attitude, keep up the positivity, we sure could use it." Travis commented, to which Winston returned their nod and began heading over to the other contestants.

"Good afternoon to you all, I'm looking forward to working with all of you down the road." He greeted, both smiling and waving at his fellow contestants, which most at least returned the latter.

"Yang Shirubamari," Carefully, the Arcanine padded down the dock, looking warily at all the water surrounding her. She saw the two hosts waiting there at the end, and she stood up straight from this,

"Oh, uh, hey! Glad I could make it! I'm, uh, ready to win this whole thing!" she stated to them, though it was quite evident from her demeanor that she wasn't as confident as she wanted to come off as, which Travis was quick to point out,

"If that's how good you are at lying, I wouldn't take up poker if I were you." he chuckled, which Yang nodded at, nervously,

"Oh, uh, yeah. Noted. I'm more about sports anyway." she responded, trying to ease her tension

"In a way, this game is one massive sport, so this should suit you well." Elizabeth said, to which Yang sighed at,

"Yeah, guess it should." With that she started walking to where the rest of the contestants are, stopping at them and being unsure what to say.

"Sup dude," Tracy was the one to break the ice, causing Yang to look in her direction,

"I'm uh, not a dude. Sorry." This response caused a scoff from a distant Morgan,

"You people truly are blind in the mind. Pitiful." He drawled, to which Tracy cast a glare at,

"Yeah, well you'll be blind when I kick your eyes out!" she shouted back, which was only met with a roll of the eyes. Getting away from that, the Floatzel turned back to Yang, "Anywho, you look pretty strong, so you better put up a fight, got it!?"

"Uh, yeah! I'm gonna take you down!" Yang shouted back, still without much backbone to what she was saying, though Tracy did not seem to notice.

"Alright, next is uh… Dr. Sleep?" Travis said, confused as he looked at the name, "Weird, I don't remember anyone like that joining this game."

"I don't either," Elizabeth responded, "I assumed it was another one of your picks you thought would be funny."

"No, no, I would own up to it if it was." the Sableye raised his hands up, "I don't think I've even heard of a Dr. Sleep before."

"Then I'm pleased to make your acquaintance!" He heard from behind him, which caused him to jump and shout in surprise, turning around to see the Hypno in question,

"Why the hell do people keep sneaking up like that!?" Travis shouted out, causing Elizabeth to shake her head, though she still couldn't help but cast an intrigued glance at the newcomer,

"So you are this Dr. Sleep, then?" she asked, being met with a nod,

"That's right my dear, certified with a PhD. My card." He pulled out two more business cards for both hosts, who took it, Travis more cautiously. "I do look forward to my time being spent here, quite the opportunity, and I know opportunity as if it were my first name. Which it isn't." He continued, causing the hosts to share a look,

"Right," Travis replied, more than a little weirded out. "Um, just uh, go stand with the others while we finish up, alright?"

"Absolutely," though as he said this, Dr. Sleep was already halfway to the other contestants, who all looked at him with interest,

"Pleasure to meet all of you, some of you again. If you ever have an issue that can be solved with some good ol neurosurgery or psychology, do not hesitate to call. My card." He used his psychic powers to levitate several of his business cards, placing them in the hands or other appendages of each contestant, who all looked that them confused.

"You uh, don't have a number on these. Or a location. Or anything but your name." Winston spoke up, perplexed,

"Oh fret not, my geriatric genius, I will know." He smiled and then stood off to the side. Nobody really had anything to say in response.

Back with the hosts, Travis turned to Elizabeth, "Well, that's everybody I'm pretty sure, guess we better get this shindig going."

"Hm," Elizabeth nodded, looking to the 16 contestants and motioning them to follow her, "This way, follow me." She began walking off of the dock, with the contestants following her. All that remained on the dock were Travis and Garth, who spent a few moments looking at each other.

"Um, little help?" The sand clump asked, causing Travis to sigh and phase under the dock and lift the Sandygast up and over to the others.

* * *

Eventually, the entire cast was over at what looked to be a shipyard, most of the contestants sat on top of various boards or the trunks of old trucks, and in front of them stood Elizabeth, staring the entire cast down. Those among the campers had a range of emotion; some such as Joseph or Macy took to talking and getting to know each other, some such as Winston or Morgan sat in silence and the triplets loudly continued their own conversation. Eventually, the Mawile cleared her throat and got everybody's attention onto her. As they sat in silence, she began speaking. "Welcome to Starstream City everybody. We are just as excited as all of you to start this show. I'm sure you all know what's going on based on the contracts, but if you need a refresher, this will be an eight week game where all of you will face challenges of various difficulties and requiring various skill sets. Each night one of you will be voted off by your peers and out of the game. Whoever among you is the last one standing will be awarded the grand prize. It will take strength, smarts and perseverance to make it that far however, so be on top of your game. Unless you all have any questions, that will be all for this part of the introduction period."

There was a brief silence, before a hand rose up. It belonged to that of Joseph. The monkey spoke up, as all eyes turned to him, making him a little nervous, "So, uhhh, don't take this the wrong way but… is this it? I expected a lot more people, you know? Feels like teams are just gonna be dropping people like flies and stuff."

"We were hoping we'd get that question, so good work, monkey man." Travis' voice rang out as the Sableye sauntered next to Elizabeth, grinning, "I'm sure you've seen a million of these shows, and we gotta do something different than those million. So teams? They kinda sorta, don't exist."

This was met with a collective noise of confusion from quite a few members of the cast. Eventually, Margaret spoke up from the crowd, "Wait, you're saying that this is everybody for themselves for the whole game?"

"That's right," Travis confirmed, "Unless you end up working with someone else that is. But for the most part, you're all on your own. Hope you made a good first impression with your fellow campers here."

A few eyes darted over to Morgan, who quirked an eyebrow at the looks and scoffed. "Please," the Mienshao started, his voice as dry as the Sandygast seated next to him, "I hardly did anything worth wasting your vote on this early. If you're that sensitive you picked the wrong show to be on."

"Yes," Sydney spoke up, smirking down at him, "Keep this charade up, you're going to light the flames I need to begin the inferno." the Minx had no clue how to respond, and instead scoffed again. This time, Winston looked between the two, confused,

"What are you two on about exactly?" He asked, having been last he was not filled in on what had transpired before he stepped on the deck.

"Don't get your nose in it, man," Will answered, "He's just an ass, and the Absol is just… weird." Winston seemed to accept that answer and turned away, and then Will turned to Elizabeth again "So, uh, aside from the whole no teams thing, is there anything else different we oughtta know?" He asked, which was met with a shrug from Travis.

"Guess there's one thing," He began, cracking his neck boredly, "So, one thing you should know is that budget is uh, pretty tight for us, for reasons we don't feel like talking about. That said, we couldn't really afford good places for you to stay, so you're gonna have to find stuff like that on your own."

"W-we have no homes?" Yang questioned, a bit shocked at the notion,

"It's a city that nobody's lived in ever, there's plenty for you to use as a home." Margaret responded, and caused Winston to clear his throat,

"It is quite true that this city never had the funds or support to inhabit a community. That said however, are we certain that everything is clean and stable with that in mind?" He asked, curiously,

"We didn't notice anything bad when we gave it a look over, everything should be perfectly fine." Travis assured them, which Morgan cocked an eye at,

"Disgusting, to be so low budget you couldn't even afford us a place we can be comfortable and secure in."

"Morgan," Was all Elizabeth said, before a certain land shark intervened,

"It isn't that bad honestly, compared to what I've lived in it could be a lot worse." Krieg opined, placing a claw on Morgan's shoulder, which the minx brushed off, "Lack of homes or teams aside, is there anything else we all should know?" he had questioned, directing it at Elizabeth.

"Not in particular," was the Mawile's reply, she then turned her back to the cast, and made a motion for them to follow her, "Now, we will continue our tour, come along." The cast began to follow her as she walked further east, this time, nobody was left behind.

* * *

In time, the cast had reached a decently large building, with tables and a kitchen inside. From the interior design, it was intended to be a diner of sorts at one point. "As you can plainly see, this is your Mess Hall. We will meet here before challenges when we have them, and, obviously, three meals a day will be served here, provided it does not clash with the schedule of a challenge. We'll meet back here later, as I assume you may be rather hungry from the long trip." Elizabeth explained, which was well understood by everybody.

Clara raised a paw, "Two things, one; will all meals agree with our diets? This doesn't apply to me, but just in case anybody has allergies or aversions to certain foods. And second; which one of you will be preparing the food."

"Don't worry, we already considered everything with diets and stuff like that, everything should be good on that end, so unless you hate the food, you're good." Travis responded, giving a thumbs up, "As for your second question… Uh…" He turned to Elizabeth "Who _is_ serving food actually? I don't think we ever discussed that."

"Don't worry, I hired somebody." Was the answer,

"Really, on our budget? Who did you even manage to hire?"

"That'd be me, Purp!" came an unknown voice. Everybody turned to a door next to the kitchen to see a new face exiting it. They were a decently large, green tortoise creature. They had a shell both on their back and head, with striking red and yellow colors, almost resembling an explosion. Along them were several black spikes. On the face of him was a grin as he sauntered over to the co-host, whose eyes somehow widened.

"JJ!? You hired him!?" He yelped to Elizabeth, who didn't seem to share his reaction.

 **-Jerome "JJ" Joplin, Age 24, Male. Species: Turtonator. Label: The Cook-**

"He was cheap, we knew him, and he actually knows how to cook. Unlike either of us." Elizabeth shrugged, though Travis was not convinced.

"I can cook… sorta." He sheepishly retorted, though Elizabeth did not falter,

"Instant noodles and using a microwave don't count as cooking. He actually has a job in food."

"What, frycook at the McDewgongs that was next to our college?"

"Not even close, Not So Green Goblin," JJ stepped in, getting between the two, "I bet you remember Jill Sandwiches from our town, since I saw you there all the time. I got a job as cook there."

"Jill Sandwiches? Well shit, guess that is pretty good food." Travis admitted, still a bit uncomfortable,

"Got that right, and what have _you_ done since high school? From what I hear, you barely got out of college, and dropped out of film school after three months. You and her got this gig out of luck, don't act like you're better than me."

The cast watched, rather silent as the two talked. Some could notice that the Sableye had lost his mellow and chill demeanor fully, rather just looked very uncomfortable, and a bit more upset after that last speech.

"Dude… low blow." Was all Travis could say, albeit much quieter than anything else he said, though JJ did not let up,

"Tch, I'm not wrong though. You were a loser back in high school, you're a loser now." Elizabeth took this time to step in,

"Travis, JJ, enough. We're adults now, this isn't the time to continue differences we had back then." She said, separating them. Travis remained silent, and seemed a bit more distant, though JJ sneered down at her,

"Ah, Casper the Friendzoned Ghost has to get his crush to step in and fight his battles. Listen, you might be paying me, hon, but that doesn't mean I'm gonna roll over and play nice, got it?"

"Actually, you will." Was her response, as the jaws on her head got right up in the tortoise's face. They snapped harsh, ready to rip off the face of JJ. He backed away a bit, glaring.

"You wanna try me, loose lips?" he challenged. Elizabeth stepped forward, a cold look on her face, until suddenly, a certain doctor got in between them.

"Now now, let's settle down friends, I think I can mend these fences. Not that I have any experience in carpentry." Dr. Sleep spoke up, Elizabeth had no response, but JJ was not so silent,

"Who the hell are you supposed to be?" He glared, only for a card to be shoved in his face,

"My card, but that isn't so important. Now JJ, was it, I think I can identify. What the issue here is. You hold a certain resentment of these two hosts, perhaps a matter of wanting to feel superior to them. What was your home life like? Were you perhaps abused, by the dominant one in the family no less? And just maybe that is why you want to overpower your peers? Am I wrong?"

While the Hypno was talking, JJ was seething, "You shut your DAMN mouth about my family, jackass, you don't know nothing."

"I know more than you may think. PhD. Regardless, let go of those grudges and demons and perhaps you will lead a happier life."

As he finished, Dr. Sleep noticed a fist flying towards his face, which he casually dodged, "Now now, it isn't good to lay a hand on one trying to help."

"Uh, what I think he's trying to say is this," Will intervened, "Let's just calm everything down for now. If nothing else, this attitude could get you fired, man. And what if your boss at home sees this? What would they say?"

At this, JJ looked like he was considering, then Elizabeth decided to step back in,

"Step off for now, Jerome. I don't want to take any actions I shouldn't have to. Like firing you or worse." at this the maw on the back of her head growled out, to which JJ raised his hands up at and sighed.

"Fine. I'll play nice. For now. Knowing how freaky you are that threat is probably valid." JJ grunted and walked back into the kitchen. Once he left the cast was left in a rather awkward silence, Travis rubbing his arm sheepishly,

"Uh, yeah, let's just go." he muttered, shuffling out of the cafeteria briskly, causing the contestants to look at each other,

"Is uh, is he gonna be alright?" Clara asked, concerned for his well being, Elizabeth in turn sighed.

"He will be fine, if not I will talk to him later, for now, let us finish your tour." She then walked out as well, with the rest of the cast following. Noticeably, Sydney lagged behind, smiling widely.

"I can feel it. The storm is approaching." He muttered, before keeping his pace with the rest of the cast.

* * *

After spending some time walking eventually Elizabeth and a silent Travis stopped at a large building, that was very regal and noble in design, with stained glass windows lining the sides. Macy was the first one to speak up, "How come we're stopping at a church?"

"Yeah, uh, I'm not exactly the religious type." Garth commented, looking over the building,

"Oh my gosh, church is like, sooooooo boring!" Lisa had interjected, seemingly on topic with everyone else,

"I know right? Like this one time at church I literally almost died from boredom!" Linda had responded, eliciting a gasp from Lana,

"Oh I remember that, we, like, had to get you to a mall fast because you totally would've died!" she responded, causing the other two sisters to giggle, nearby, Margaret groaned,

"If you're up there, make sure to strike them down first." She mumbled, looking up towards the sky. Eventually however, Elizabeth cleared her throat,

"We are here because this is where the confessional is located. It was Travis' idea."

Almost as if being snapped out of a trance, Travis looked up with slightly wide eyes, "Oh, uh, yeah," he started, a bit quieter than he had been, "I figured that churches have confessionals anyway, so wouldn't it make sense?" he shrugged, his demeanor still diminished from earlier.

"So we come here to speak in private about what's on our minds regarding the game, other people, or anything in general. Am I correct?" Nora asked, giving the two a look,

"You are," Elizabeth responded, nodding, "Feel free to use this whenever you please, whether it be to vent about an event or contestant, explain a plan, or merely speak your mind. That said however, I would like you all to use this now, if you'd please."

"Huh? Why now?" Tracy asked, cocking an eyebrow,

"We were hoping to let the audience get more of a first impression of you all. Learn maybe why you're here, what you want to do, who you are. You know, stuff like that." Travis answered, which seemed to make sense to the contestants, as nobody else spoke up afterwards.

"Now, if there is nothing else, please proceed in alphabetical order, we will finish up this tour once everyone has gone."

* * *

 _Alexandria looked around the rather small, albeit tidy confessional room, "Rather nice looking, I have to say," She commented softly, before focusing on the camera before her, "I'm not quite sure what I can talk about at the moment, so far, the game is already much more chaotic than anticipated. All I can really hope for is that I do well."_

* * *

 _Clara stretched her back, lounging in the confessional, "My it is comfortable in here. About myself though, I joined this game for a straightforward reason, I wished to stop relying on my parents, and this seemed like a good way to show them I can be independent and live on my own. The money, while not a concern of mine, would be a rather nice bonus. All I know is that I should be having a good time here." She smiled and concluded her statement._

* * *

 _The camera noticeably was tilted down more towards the floor as Garth could not reach the seat of the confessional, "This seems as if it's going to be a trend." he drawled, before shaking that thought off of his mind, "All my life I've been in the background, ignored. And it seems like that's going to be a trend here, too. Though to be honest, I don't mind. I don't have much to say to people, and here in this game, I'm willing to bet working in the background could be an ace in the hole for me. We'll just need to wait and see." He finished before sliding on out._

* * *

 _Joseph was grinning as he cracked his knuckles, "Gotta say, I'm pretty pumped so far," he started, chuckling a bit, "I'm thinking I can do well. And most people here seem alright so far, with some obvious exceptions." he then fake coughed, being sure to include Morgan's name in between them. "Though I can't really understand why Tracy is so fixated on me. Whatever, I'm sure it'll pass."_

* * *

 _Krieg was wearing his typical grin as he looked into the camera, "I've been looking forward to this since the warden first told me about the game. We've had some interesting people come here, wouldn't you say so? It's just a matter of time now, who will end up as prey, and who will be at the top of the food chain. We aren't so different from wilds after all, are we?" he posed the question to nobody in particular, chuckling._

* * *

 _Lisa, Lana, and Linda were already talking as soon as the camera turned on, "So like, I am sooooo pumped for this game! I knew they would choose us," Lana exclaimed, seemingly no different in mood as she was back on the boat,_

" _I bet it's cuz we were, like, the prettiest." Lisa responded, causing a squeal from the other two,_

" _Oh my gosh you are totes right," Linda commented grinning, "And like, three heads are better than one right? That's what like movies say. So we must be like, three times smarter or something."_

" _That makes so much sense!" Lana gasped, then squealed, "If we win this, Gavin will soooo go out with me!"_

" _I would LOVE to ask him out! He is like so hot!" Linda replied, just as excited,_

" _Totes hot." Lisa nodded,_

" _We love you Gavin!" all three exclaimed, smiling widely_

* * *

 _Macy made herself cozy in the confessional "Almost like the one we used to have back home," she mused, before smiling, "I'm really excited to be here, I saw it as a really good opportunity to make some new pals." her smile then faded, "But I guess not everyone is going to want to be friends." she then rubbed the cheek that was slapped earlier, "It still hurts, and I'm not just talking about the slap…"_

* * *

" _I don't like people, really," Margaret commented, floating there with a bored look on her face, "Quite honestly, I only signed up to get away from people at school and work. I don't know, I'm just gonna see what happens. I don't care much."_

* * *

" _I hate this so far," Morgan stated, looking rather tired, "None of these people are worth my time, and truthfully I can't find a single one that seems to have a lick of intellect to them. These eight weeks will amount to nothing but a migraine."_

* * *

 _Nora floated gently in the confessional, for once without a book in her hands, "I'd like to think I have a decent chance here. Though I guess mathematically I only have a six point twenty-five percent chance. Better than no chance right?" she grinned, chuckling a bit_

* * *

 _Sydney stood completely still, smiling right into the camera, "Very soon I will sink my teeth into the buffet of eternal discord that rests before me. A cacophony of sorrow shall be the melody that plays as they are engulfed in the darkness. In due time they will surrender their lives to me." The camera seemed to cut out after that, for no explainable reason._

* * *

 _Tracy grinned, fist pumping, "I am STOKED right now! I had a good look at everyone by now, and this is gonna be too easy, like, only Yam and Kreme I think their names were, I think they'll be the only ones that will put up a fight. Maybe." She chuckled before lounging back, "This game is so mine."_

* * *

" _So uh yeah, this was my therapist's idea," Will started, unsure of what to say, "A stressful situation with high stakes is what can drive anyone's emotions crazy. So I guess this is the ultimate test to see if I can be the Pokemon I want to be. How do I think my chances are?" he then signed and looked down, "Not good honestly, I already feel like I have a thousand Snorlaxes on my back."_

* * *

" _Not often you see someone my age competing is it?" Winston pointed out, chuckling, "I'm not here as a statement or anything. I just would like to have a bit more fun while my body can handle it. If I do win though, I think I might take the wife on a nice cruise to Sinnoh's Flower Paradise. She's always wanted to go there." He smiled, seeming to be looking back on old memories._

* * *

" _Uh, I'm gonna totally kick everyone's ass! Yeah…" Yang shouted, though not a drip of bravado was found, "It's gonna be the opposite way around, isn't it?" she sighed soon after, "Just remember what mom says Yang. Just remember that." She seemed to repeat this to herself a few times afterwards._

* * *

" _My business hours are generally from 6 in the morning to 8 at night. Though I am more than willing to accommodate somebody outside of those hours if it's an emergency." Dr. Sleep stated, twirling a pendulum on his finger. "Oh the game? My chances are about as real and legitimate as my business." He smirked, and then went on his way._

* * *

Once Dr. Sleep was finished everybody waited for further instructions, "That's about it for now," Travis started, "You guys are more or less free to explore, mingle, or do whatever until the challenge starts. Unless you guys have any questions, go wild,"

"That's it? Nothing else to show us?" Joseph questioned

"Not really. You've seen about everything you need for now. The only thing left to cover would be bathrooms and such, which should be located in nearly every building." Elizabeth answered, which seemed to be accepted, "Now if there is nothing else, we need to prepare for the challenge."

And with that everybody went their separate ways, some for shelter, some to chat, and others for different means.

* * *

Along the shores of the city, Margaret floated there overlooking the sea, seeming a bit more calm than before, "Well, this is when it all begins. The next eight weeks are going to be something, that's for sure."

"Surreal isn't it? Probably won't even seem like eight weeks once all is said and done." Margaret looked down to her side and saw that a certain clump of sand had joined her at the shore, causing her to cock an eyebrow at his presence,

"Did you seriously follow me all the way out here? I was hoping to get some quiet time." She commented, which, if the Sandygast had shoulders, would've been met with a shrug,

"Yes and no," he answered, "I was planning on coming down here anyway, make myself a little home on the shore. You probably can tell, but sand and shores are comforting to me. Much more than a city, that's for sure." Margaret made no response, but it made sense in her head. "Though I do have an interest in you, Margaret,"

"Please tell me you aren't trying to flirt," she commented in response to that last part,

"I'm not. What I mean is I was drawn to your company. Maybe it's just a Ghost type thing, I don't know. And hey, something about the person that wants to be away from everyone hanging out with the person nobody notices. Kinda interesting in a way." Garth responded,

"I guess," was the reply, "You can stay I guess. Though don't get annoying and ask a bunch of questions about me,"

"Can do, I'm usually not one to make conversation anyway," Garth replied. The two then sat in silence, overlooking the shore for the next couple of minutes,

* * *

Will was walking along a small street, looking between buildings, noting their appearances, when suddenly from behind him, he heard a voice, "Oy, wait up!"

He turned around to see Joseph coming after him, Will didn't mind his company, "Oh, hey there, don't think we've had a chance to talk much." He started, seeing no reason to be formal or nervous around the ape, "What's up?"

"Was wondering what you were up to, and you seem cool, so I felt like I could hang with you for a bit," was Joseph's answer, which Will accepted

"Sure, I don't mind you hanging around," Will replied, smiling softly, "I'm just looking for a place to hole up for now, if you want I could help you find a spot too,"

"Sounds good!" Joseph agreed, walking along with the bull, "So, what do you think of everyone here so far?"

"Most of them seem alright," Will responded, a neutral look on his face, "Morgan is kind of a douche though,"

"Heh, yeah, I can agree to that one," Joseph smirked,

"And then Dr. Sleep and Sydney are just… odd. Do you get that vibe from them?"

"Well, Dr. Sleep yeah, I haven't had much interaction with Sydney yet though."

"What about you? How are you feeling about the others?" Will turned the question around, causing the Simisage to think it over for a bit,

"Well, aside from what you pointed out, not much I can really say. I guess I feel really weird about Tracy, though." He said

"Tracy, why's tha-"

"I heard my name!" a voice shouted out, causing the Tauros to scream out,

"YOOOOOW! WHY THE HELL DO PEOPLE KEEP SNEAKING UP ON ME!?" He shouted, stampeding around the area, causing Joseph to jump back,

"Woah!" The ape let out some vines and wrapped them around the horns of Will, but unfortunately he couldn't control him, and ended up flying into a wall, causing a bit of a crater in it. "Owww..." he mumbled out, before attempting to get himself healed with synthesis.

Meanwhile, Tracy nonchalantly walked up to Will and without missing a beat, she slapped him across the face, calming him down, if only slightly. "What the hell was that for!?" he blurted out, confused and still slightly angry,

"Got you to stop didn't it?" She replied, to which there was no response to. She then walked over to Joseph, who had healed himself during the discussion, "So monkey man, whatcha talking about me for? Admitting you're scared of me?"

"N-no." Joseph stuttered, looking uncomfortable, "I just… never mind. Not important." he sighed, causing the Floatzel to smirk,

"Probably not. Neither of you seem like big enough worries for me to care." She claimed, walking away, "Good luck in the game I guess. Maybe if I like you enough I'll let you get second!" as she left, Joseph cast a glance at Will,

"See what I mean?" The monkey asked, which was met with a nod,

"Yep, sure do."

* * *

In another part of the city, Macy and Clara were walking together, talking animatedly, both with smiles on their faces,

"So your dad really won the lottery three times in his life?" Macy asked, a look of shock on her face, which was met with a smile,

"Sure did," Clara replied, "We don't know how but he has always been insanely lucky in life, and when the time came to take that skill to trying to win money, he did it three times somehow."

"That's amazing!" Macy cheered, thoroughly impressed with the feat, "Do you think any of his luck rubbed off on you?"

"Oh I don't know, guess we'll just have to wait and see." the larger cat giggled, "So how about you? What's your family like?"

"Oh, pretty normal stuff," Macy shrugged, "I've always really looked up to my grandfather, he used to be a really famous writer, he told me."

"Oh?" Clara's curiosity was piqued, "Anything he wrote I might have heard of?"

"I'm, uh, not sure honestly." Macy admitted, "He never let me read his writing, never knew why."

"Hm, guess I would have to find out myself, then." Clara responded, then suddenly they heard footsteps approaching them. Turning around, the two were greeted with Winston,

"Afternoon you two," he greeted, smiling softly, "Hope I'm not interrupting anything."

"No, not really," Clara responded, "We were just getting to know each other that's all."

"Ah, I see." he nodded, "As for me, I'm just exploring the city for now, seeing if I can find all the landmarks I've heard of in the news."

"Hey can I ask something mister?" Macy piped up, looking up at the tree, "What made you join this game?"

"I just want to enjoy myself while I can," he replied calmly, "And my wife always wanted to see me on TV, so that certainly helps," he then looked down at the Shinx, his eyes soft and warm, "Let me tell you this now, since you're young. Be sure to enjoy yourself as long as you can in life. Don't let a single moment go to waste." he advised her, which the Shinx smiled at,

"I'll be sure to! Thanks mister!" she replied happily. The three then began to walk together, speaking about experiences and life stories. From one rooftop, however, a certain Absol was observing them, smirking.

"You…" He mumbled, staring intently at Macy, before chuckling, "I am certain of it. There is an enigma within your soul, one that you wish to keep contained. But I will find out for sure. Mark my words, you will have your very being torn from you, and be brought into the realm of eternal desolation." He chuckled and then leapt away, his amusement echoing.

* * *

"I am sure of it, you have not seen me before," Alexandria stated, facing the confused faces of Yang and Nora,

"I was certain you looked familiar though, the reason though is beyond me," Nora mused, intrigued,

"Yeah, I can't put it together, but you look like the spitting image of somebody," Yang agreed, which Alexandria shook her head to,

"I do not know why everybody is saying this, but you do not seem familiar to me and I am sure you have not seen me."

"Perhaps it is a matter of amnesia, then?" a familiar voice rang out as a certain Hypno walked up,

"Oh boy," Yang groaned,

"Ah, my dear Yang, pleasure to see you once more!" Dr. Sleep remarked, smiling, "And a pleasant afternoon to you two as well."

"Friends of yours?" Alexandria asked head tilted as the Arcanine gave a rather sheepish chuckle,

"Uhhh, I don't really…" Was all Yang could say before being cut off,

"Why of course! We hit it off as well as pro golfers taking their first tee of the day." Dr. Sleep answered, before Nora interjected,

"Not to be a bother, but you said you are a doctor, right?" she questioned

"That is correct. Certified neurosurgeon and psychologist." he affirmed, before continuing, "If you wish to make an appointment my prices are fair and reasonable."

"N-not what I was going for…" Nora muttered, "What I was going to say is if you would be interested in discussing those topics during a free period. I would be interested in studying them one day."

"Ah, a young learner! Excellent! I might even say that's stupendous!" Dr. Sleep exclaimed, placing an arm around the uncomfortable Elgyem, "I am willing to squeeze in office hours to discuss the finer details whenever you see fit." Nora could only chuckle, before this time Alexandria stepped in,

"Excuse me, doctor, but while you were making friends with these two I decided to look into you." she addressed, holding up a cell phone, "But the odd thing is, I can not seem to find your files or profile anywhere I look. Could you explain that?"

"Quite simple, rosebud," was the response, "I choose not to make myself a presence online, no matter what. Who knows what the response would be. I am anonymous entirely there, much like how you are seemingly recognized by all."

"Well, I suppose that would make sense." she spoke, as Yang looked around,

"This got weird, didn't it?" she asked to nobody in particular,

"Seems like it did, yes." Nora replied, just as confused.

* * *

Off by their very own were the triplets. They did not seem to mind this however, keeping each other company, perhaps even unaware nobody else was around,

"So like, I said to Rachel the other day that Gavin is soooooo not into her." Lana finished, the other two heads nodding,

"She isn't Gavin's type anyway, I don't know what she was thinking." Lisa critiqued, "Like, ew."

"SO ew," Linda confirmed, "Gavin is totally into us anyway,

"Oh my gosh he so is!" Lana cheered, "Did you hear him yesterday when he said he hopes he doesn't see us for a long time? He wants us to win!"

"Awww, that's so caring of him!" Lisa cooed, as the three heads squealed.

Eventually though they stopped, as Lana looked around and asked one question,

"So, like, where did everybody go?" neither of the other heads, knew an answer, and not a soul was around to give an answer to any of them.

* * *

Similarly, by his own, Morgan looked out over the city, seated on top of a building. Once again, he was working in a notepad. He seemed more serene by now, but focused. "I have to get the finer details down. This will never sell or go anywhere if I can't get those right." he muttered to himself, concentrating. From behind, a certain Garchomp had walked up, silent. Curious, he peered over the minx's shoulder, staring at the drawings present in the notepad.

"That's quite good, I must say," Krieg mused, causing Morgan's eyes to widen as he hastily covered his work, glaring at the shark,

"It's quite rude to interrupt somebody while they are working, you know." he droned, eliciting a shrug from Krieg,

"My apologies, I'm not too familiar with the work ethics of what you do," Krieg then took a seat next to Morgan, who sighed in response,

"You couldn't bother somebody else?"

"I could, but I quite like you Morgan," Krieg grinned, "You're very different from the rest of them, and I think you're quite interesting. Not afraid of being your true self. I respect that."

"Perhaps you're smarter than I gave you credit for, then," Morgan drawled, "Did you need something, then? I know you didn't just come here to feed my ego."

"Well, no, I didn't. But I had to speak with you." Krieg started, holding out a claw, "Let's you and I be friends. I think we have the potential to take this game by storm,"

Morgan considered, before cocking an eyebrow, "Why exactly did you come to me with this offer? Apparently I'm hated by everyone here because they're too shallow to see their own faults."

"That's part of why, we both are on the outs of this competition already. You made quite an impression on everyone else. And I doubt I am the type who is going to garner much trust, given my background." Krieg explained, which all seemed to check out to the minx, before he thought of something

"We're merely two people, what's that going to do in a game like this right now?" he questioned,

"I'm more than willing to vote how others are. We just need to keep an ear out. Guys like you and me have to watch our backs constantly. We are at the bottom of the food chain, with predators lurking all about."

"Quite a metaphor," Morgan then shrugged and took the Garchomp's claw into his hand, "Fine then, I suppose we have a deal. I suppose if I had to work with anybody in this game, you are one of the more tolerable people."

Krieg laughed at this, "Glad to hear we have a deal then. I look forward to working with you, Morgan. Two worthless bottom feeders, working their way to the top of the food chain."

"You really should stop talking like that." Morgan stood up, walking away, "You can't let others dictate the status you have. You don't know who you are, until you form that knowledge for yourself." As he left, Krieg stood there, silent, frowning, thinking.

"Perhaps you are right, Morgan. I suppose we'll wait and see." was all he said, before going his own way.

* * *

Finally, at the center of the city, among a ring of seats and stands, stood the two hosts, Travis was lying on his back, as Elizabeth seemed to be reading through papers. "So," Travis started, looking at his wrist as if there was a watch there, "Think you're about ready?"

"I should be, yes," Elizabeth answered, "Why do you ask?"

"Well, this is it," the Sableye gestured around them, "Our first episode has gotten to the first challenge. Our first impression. You gotta admit you're at least a little nervous, right?"

"I can't show any fear when I'm hosting. I would like to stay professional." Elizabeth bluntly replied,

"Right, right. I just am hoping this is gonna go well. I really don't wanna just be known as that loser who made a shitty show."

"What JJ said really got to you, didn't it?" Elizabeth asked, causing Travis to sigh,

"Yeah…" was the response, as the ghost kicked up some dust nearby, "He has a point though. We got this through luck. We're nobodies. And if we screw this up, we'll be nobodies who had their failure broadcast everywhere."

"Travis, I can't say I feel what you feel, but I think I understand," Elizabeth responded, crouching next to him, "But, we can't let those thoughts hang over our heads. At this point it's now or never, we just have to harden our nerves and go at this with everything we've got."

Travis looked up at her, and looked into her eyes. Eventually, he grinned, "You know, you really could be a therapist if you wanted." he stood up and popped his back, "I needed to hear all of that. Seriously, thanks."

"Think nothing of it." Elizabeth responded, "I can't have you being like that. You're just as important to this as I am. Now, are you ready?"

"Sure am now," Travis smirked, to which Elizabeth nodded and spoke into a nearby microphone,

"Everybody meet us at the square in the center of the city. That will be where your first challenge is held." After that, she stood away from the microphone, and looked at Travis, "And so it begins,"

"We got this, Lizzie,"

"Stop that now,"

"Right. Sorry."

* * *

 _Remaining Contestants: Alexandria, Clara, Garth, Joseph, Krieg, Lisa Lana & Linda, Macy, Margaret, Morgan, Nora, Sydney, Tracy, Will, Winston, Yang, Dr. Sleep_

 **And so that concludes the first chapter. I hope that is a step up from the dreck I wrote years ago, for those that remember that. Here's hoping I can stick to this one and end up finishing it. Any favorites so far? Any picks to win? I know I have them. See you all hopefully soon with another chapter. I say hope related words a lot.**


	2. Gimme Some Truth

**And so we begin the first challenge today, after a bit of time passing since we last visited StarStream city. What will go down today, and will anybody be leaving? It is time that we found out. And hopefully find out about all the new faces that have shown up to be a part of this show, hosts and contestants alike. Let us see what happens in the challenge today.  
**

* * *

Once all the contestants had met in the square, there stood Travis and Elizabeth, leaning on a nearby podium. They had remained at the same location as they were at the announcement, indicating that they had been in the square all along. Travis nodded and faced everybody who had gathered.

"Welcome everybody, to your first challenge on StarStream City." She greeted, her tone a mix of casual and professional. "I hope you got to take some time to know your peers, though not attached enough to where you are unable to compete against them."

"I can't imagine anybody here is that close yet." Margaret commented, glancing at everybody to confirm what she was saying,

"I think a few people already have made some enemies with each other as well," Garth agreed, his attention fixated on Tracy, who was once again leaning on Joseph, much to the ape's protest,

"Please, stop doing this." He pleaded, frowning,

"You're gonna have to make me stop Joey!" She replied, chuckling at his annoyance, after which Travis cleared his throat to get everybody's attention,

"Right, so nobody is besties, and there's some bad blood brewing. Sounds about right," He nodded, "Well, getting to know the others here might prove valuable, such as in today's challenge."

"What exactly is our challenge anyhow? I can't really see anything that would point to it." Clara questioned, looking around, as Will began to speak up,

"What I want to know is what's with this ring of podiums. Almost looks like something used for a ritual or whatever." He commented, eliciting a chuckle from a nearby Sydney,

"Now would that not be a spectacle? Rituals to cast forth true hatred onto the souls of the innocent, until they too are cast into damnation." He muttered, earning a look from the Tauros,

"You are really weird, dude." He pointed out, which was met with nothing but another chuckle.

"Regarding the podiums, take a closer look at them," Elizabeth responded, to which Will complied,

"Oh, it has my name on it. Is that what you mean?" He asked, earning a nod,

"Correct, now everybody find the podium with your name on it and we can begin." After she finished that the contestants squirmed and shoved around until they located where they were seated, in a pattern which Alexandria took note of,

"You sure enjoy doing things in alphabetical order," she commented, which was met with a shrug from Travis,

"It's easier to remember." He responded, looking to see everyone was in their proper location, "Alright now, things can finally get going."

"What are we gonna do? Is some kind of debate going on? Or a word game?" Macy questioned, looking around from her spot between Margaret and the Triplets.

"The second part is sort of right," Travis nodded, "Well, most of you are teens or older, so I'm sure you're familiar with a game known as 2 Truths and a Lie?"

"Oh yeah, I've played that!" Macy replied, smiling,

"Yeah, I think I've overheard a game or two," Joseph said, scratching his head,

"Oh my gosh I am like sooooooo good at that game when I play with Lana and Linda!" Lisa exclaimed, clearly excited,

"Yeah me too! I like always know both of your lies when we play!" Lana responded, just as jovial as her sister,

"Me too! We know each other like sooo well!" Linda smiled, causing the girls to squeal and giggle,

"Can't imagine why," Garth commented, eliciting a chuckle from a nearby Krieg,

"It is respectable to a degree, having a bond that close. Can't say I know what that's like," He noted, grinning at the triplets, who were on his right,

"Y-yeah, me neither…" Yang stuttered, before shaking her head and attempting to sound more confident, "Cuz I, uh, don't have time for friends or games when I got competitions to win! Like this one!"

"Hell yeah sister, that's the spirit!" Tracy complimented, clearly oblivious to her act,

"Ah, the masquerade of brutes, worn only by those who don't possess said traits. A term some in the psychological field refer to as the Paper Tiger act. Adorable really." Dr. Sleep chuckled, to which Yang was not sure how to respond,

"Uh, thanks?" She stammered out, after which Morgan sighed out, annoyed,

"Enough time wasting. What does that child's game have to do with our challenge. I'd rather not subject myself to trivial icebreakers with people I have no interest of making friends with." He complained, earning glances from some contestants,

"What I think he means to say is that is this game our challenge?" Winston asked in a much more polite tone,

"Thank you Winston, as for the answer, it's both a yes and a no." Elizabeth responded, folding her arms, "Functionally, the challenge is very similar, but also the reverse of the normal game. Rather than giving out two truthful things and one lie, it's instead two lies and one truth. Which one is the truth is up to the others to find out."

"Couldn't somebody just like, make up something about themselves to say, and have everything be a lie? Not that I would but I dunno about the others." Will questioned, which Travis returned with a nod,

"Don't worry, none of you are asking the questions, after all." He replied, earning a few confused looks from this,

"What does that mean?" Nora spoke up, "Surely if we were talking about ourselves we would need to be the ones _talking about ourselves_."

"Well, it's pretty simple. We looked into your profiles and found information about you we could use for this, and asked around with people who would know you. That way we know a lot of things to ask in case this drags on." Was the answer, which surprised some,

"Wait, you looked into our histories?" Margaret asked, not as shocked as the others "Isn't this gonna go against some sort of privacy standards of someone? Reveal something they don't exactly want known to everyone else, let alone on TV."

"Y-yeah, I have some things I'd rather not talk about really, if that's okay." Yang affirmed, which was met with agreements from quite a few others,

"What we have here is all stuff we believe you won't be too upset over having revealed. Nothing extremely personal or dark. It's stuff that you would likely talk about if it came up in conversation." This quelled some fears, but there we others who remained skeptical.

"Alright so we don't have to worry about embarrassing shit. Cool." Tracy spoke, seemingly not as concerned as others, "But like, how do I win? That's what I care about."

"You earn points for correct answers. Five is what you need to win." Elizabeth answered, "Deciphering which is the truthful answer will earn you a point, and so will guessing who that truth belongs to. Alternatively if nobody figures out who that truth belongs to after three guesses, the person involved gets a point, and another if people incorrectly answer with both lies before hand." With that explanation, people nodded, it seemed simple enough.

"In theory, could somebody win this challenge from nobody guessing any of their truths and that they are the ones it points to?" Was the next question, this one from Alexandria.

"We don't expect that to happen, but we have five questions for each of you just in case it comes down to that. Which reminds me," Travis started, before pointing at a certain Hypno, "Before we move on, I have to tell you all that Dr. Sleep is barred from competing in this challenge."

"Huh? Why?" Joseph asked, confused by this now, as were others. Dr. Sleep, for his part, was smiling with his arms folded.

"To put it simply. We looked high and low for stuff about the guy, but like nothing exists. I don't really get it, but it's the honest truth." Travis explained, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

From his podium, Morgan rolled his eyes at this, "Isn't that indicative of your failure to actually manage this show and the contestants. What a poor showing." He scoffed, and was met with a glare from Elizabeth,

Before she could speak up, however, Alexandria beat her to it, "I do not think this is the case. I looked into Dr. Sleep earlier and I as well found absolutely nothing about him. He himself told me that he prefers to keep himself entirely anonymous." the aforementioned doctor hummed in agreement,

"She is factually correct. Smart and beautiful. Perhaps the reason I recognize you is because you are just the type of woman to be in my dreams." He complimented, causing the Lurantis to shudder

"I… sincerely hope not." She responded

"Anyway," Travis interjected, trying to ease the unrest, "He isn't allowed to compete because we got nothing on the guy. It'd be unfair to let him answer questions about the others if they couldn't do the same to him. That said he is still an option to be voted tonight. The only one who can't be voted for is whoever wins."

"I am welcome to stay however, correct?" Dr. Sleep asked, "The information that will be presented here could prove vital to a future appointment."

"I don't see why not," the Sableye shrugged, "And with all that out of the way, I think it's high time we begin. If you think you know the answer to anything, just hit the button in front of you."

"Easier said than done." Garth muttered under his breath

* * *

" _Lack of limbs has been a consistent problem in my life, such is the case with all of my species." Garth commented, looking a bit annoyed, "We can make due, but it takes a lot of energy that frankly I'd rather expend on something else."_

* * *

"Now then, for the first question," Elizabeth began, holding in front of her a note card, "Your three options are: 'Was once addicted to drugs', 'Creator of a minorly successful comic' or 'Enjoys a job as a barista' feel free to discuss among yourselves and determine an answer. Remember that you can't answer if it applies to you."

"Am I allowed to partake in the discussion?" Dr. Sleep spoke up,

"I guess?"

"Well, in that regard, I've worked with a few drug addicts here and there, I can't say for certain any of you possess attributes I would look out for." he commented, looking around at everyone,

"And what would those be?" Winston replied, curious,

"That would take too long to list. Just take my word for it." Was the only response,

"Something tells me he doesn't actually know." Margaret scoffed, "Assuming he is right though, what of those would be the correct answer? I've seen nothing to suggest a comic creator among you all."

"Well, a barista is a pretty common job I think," Nora pointed out, "I wouldn't be surprised to know somebody here has that,"

"Well that doesn't answer the who," Will responded, "Sure it might point us in a direction, but not a full one."

Further discussion was cut off by a buzzing sound. Everyone looked around for a source to the sound, and noticed a red light emitting from the button stationed at Krieg's podium.

"Am I allowed to answer both the truth and the person behind it?" He asked first, earning a nod from the hosts,

"You are, doing both correctly would earn you two points even."

"In that case, I would say that the truth is owner of a comic, and the person behind it is Morgan of course." He stated, and the light on his podium turned from red to a flashing green.

"Both of those are right, 2 points for you. Nice." Travis complimented, pointing a pair of finger guns at the Garchomp, and then writing in a notepad he was holding, "Krieg takes the lead at the start with two points. Still anyone's game though, of course,"

"You own a comic?" Nora asked, turning to her fellow contestant, who had his arms folded,

"I do, not complete or well known yet, but with time it will get there." He responded, surprisingly less hostile upon the subject being brought up,

"I don't suppose we could read it some time?" Clara asked, intrigued

"I doubt the likes of you would get the concepts at work, but I suppose." was the response, causing the feline to sigh in response,

"There it is," Joseph commented under his breath, before turning to Krieg, "You answered that pretty quick, sure of yourself too. What made you so confident?"

"I've happened to get to know Morgan here slightly. I find him quite interesting." Krieg responded, nodding to his companion, who merely looked away,

"Well, uh, if you can make friends with someone like that more power to you." the ape shrugged, which got a chuckle in return

"Trust me, I've made friends with worse crowds. Far worse."

* * *

" _I suppose that's the main reason I bothered with this whole show," Morgan explained, "I want more exposure to my work, nothing more. Aside from money obviously. If I get those I don't really care about what happens."_

* * *

" _I detect the presence of past sin within Krieg's words." Sydney claimed, a grim smile on his face, "I shall remember that. He too will not be safe from pandemonium._

* * *

Before further discussion could commence, Elizabeth cleared her throat.

"Next question," Elizabeth continued, flipping to a new notecard, "For most of their life, lived in a small woodland village, dreams to be a star in heavy metal, has no sense of direction"

There was silence among the contestants as they stopped to think, the first one to speak up happened to be Joseph, "Well, I guess nothing sounds too far fetched. If I had to make a guess though, none of you seem like the heavy metal type to me."

"You barely know us," Garth pointed out,

"I could _totally_ nail a heavy metal song" Tracy grinned

"I guess the direction one seems a bit unlikely, we all made it to where we needed to be pretty safe." Yang shrugged,

"The majority of you traveled in pairs or groups when we weren't all together. The fact nobody got lost here so far is irrelevant." Morgan drawled, causing Yang to shrink away at his condescending look,

"Well, what about the village question?" Alexandria spoke up, "We have not discussed it yet, and in my eyes it would seem like the most likely of truths."

"You bring up a good point," Winston hummed, looking over everyone, "I'd be confident in saying that is the truth, and I feel as if there are quite a few people it could apply to."

"Like, oh my gosh, I could NEVER live somewhere like that" Lisa commented, earning a nod from her sisters,

"There's like, not even a mall in those types of places," Lana pointed out in response, causing a retching noise to emit from Linda,

"Yeah, uh, totes lame," the third sister complained, as the others looked on,

"Well that rules out one person," Margaret remarked, before another light went off, this one belonging to that of Will,

"So, uh, I wanna say that the whole village thing is the truth?" He started, "I don't really have a clue as to who it would apply to though."

The podium lit up, signifying that he was correct, causing him to grin slightly.

"Good choice, Will, but now the question is; who lives there?" Travis pushed onward, causing more speculation

"Were this about my wife, I think I could answer this easily," Winston chuckled, looking out among the other contestants.

"I'm certain it can't be Krieg, something about him screams not a village person…" Joseph muttered,

"Clara, it's not you, right?" Yang spoke up, "B-because you're like from a fancy city or something right?"

"Not sure why you singled me out, but no, it's not me." Clara replied. From his podium, Dr. Sleep hummed,

"I can assure you it's not me. A place like that would be terrible for business." He assured,

"Nobody asked you, you aren't even playing." Tracy spoke up, rolling her eyes, "Well shit, I dunno, who cares about that kinda stuff?"

Another flash of color came from a podium, this one belonging to Nora, "I want to say Macy is the one, I think that came up when we talked on the way here." She spoke up, and her podium flashed which indicated another correct answer.

"Correctamundo Nora, good stuff." Travis nodded, scribbling more in his notebook, "So that's a point for Will and a point for Nora, putting them on the map, but Krieg still has the lead."

"You really remembered that?" Macy asked, smiling at her nearby friend,

"It's in my nature to try and remember any new info I get, that and I want to be a good friend." she responded, smiling back.

"Question three," Elizabeth started, "This person once stole the ring to a wedding, they got kicked out of their family, or they are a frequent visitor to the therapist."

"Oh?" Dr. Sleep spoke up, intrigued, "I can't say the last one sounds very true. I haven't seen any of you in the past."

"You aren't the only therapist genius. Are you even a therapist?" Margaret jabbed, annoyed by the Hypno,

"I am whatever I please, doll." he chuckled, earning a look of disgust from the ghost,

"That comment aside, who in their right mind steals a wedding ring?" Margaret questioned

"Well, I wouldn't but they _are_ beautiful. And valuable." Clara sheepishly admitted, chuckling.

"I have no use for a wedding ring. Not just because of no hands I just don't want to be married." Garth commented.

"Speaking of marriages, Winston, you're married aren't you? It's not you right?" Macy questioned, looking over to the tree,

"Oh no, it's not me. Our rings were gotten from 4 years of payment from work." He explained, which made enough sense to the Shinx.

"What about the family one? I don't know enough about most of you, but that seems like something that could happen." Yang spoke up, looking around.

"I left on my own terms, I'm not sure that counts though," Margaret replied, "I assume a lot of the older contestants moved out on their own."

"Probably." Tracy said, a bit annoyed, "Look it's getting annoying having to have a huge talk for each question, I'm just gonna go with my gut." And with that she slammed down on the button at her podium, "The answers are therapist and Sydney!"

Her light briefly flashed the right colors, but then a different color, confusing her. "What the hell does this mean?" She asked, looking at the hosts,

"You got the truth right, but not who it was for." Elizabeth responded, "Sydney has no known therapist. Try again."

"I need no therapist. One cannot understand my ideals and intentions through mere words. Soon though, I will make you all understand." the Absol spoke up, smiling wide,

"Yeah, good luck with that." Joseph said uncomfortably, "Well, uh, if what I've overheard is true, Krieg is in jail right? Do prisoners get therapists?"

"I had one for a short time. That was years ago though, I'm guessing this is for somebody still visiting." The Garchomp responded. Then another light flashed, and the group looked over to Garth, who had made the shape of a fist with his sand,

"The answer is Will." He groaned, "I would've answered sooner but this takes more energy than it's worth." Regardless of his complaints, his light flashed in the colors signifying he was in fact correct.

"Oh, that makes sense," Joseph said, "You did say something about wanting to control your temper."

"Yeah. Though whether I'm succeeding is up for debate." the Tauros sighed, before turning to Garth, "How did you know about that anyway?"

"I was on the boat with you. You were talking to yourself like a self help video before I spoke up and you went crazy." Garth responded, seemingly unphased by being forgotten.

Will's eyes widened, forgetting about the Sandygast's presence at that time, as well as realizing that he was seen at that time and now everybody knows. This caused him to get an embarrassed blush under his fur.

What he didn't realize though, was the glare he was getting from a nearby doctor.

* * *

" _I'm unaware of who this therapist is, but who would need them? My services are the ones that would truly help him to a better life." Dr. Sleep seethed, before calming down, and obtaining a wine glass from seemingly nowhere,_

" _There's no problem I cannot fix." He said to himself, twirling the wine within the glass._

* * *

"Good on you Garth, that puts you on the board." Travis nodded, writing in his notebook once more. "Krieg still holds he lead, will he be overtaken, who knows?"

"This next question could help answer that," Elizabeth responded, "This individual is a die hard fan of Sinnoh Pop, suffers frequent issues regarding their gender status, or has once dated two people at once."

"Sinnoh Pop? What lame tastes." Lana gagged, her sisters joining in.

"Well, at least it's not Unovan." Joseph chuckled in response,

"What is wrong with Unovan Pop?" Alexandria questioned, confused at the response. This caused Joseph to awkwardly rub his head.

"Well, y'know…" Was all that he said before the conversation was over due to a sudden press of a button.

This time it was Morgan who pressed it, "Gender issues and Yang." Sure enough, his light flashed both times to signify two correct answers.

"Not bad at all Morgan, that's two points for you, making you tied with Krieg." Travis stated, jotting this down,

"That was fast. We didn't even go over the dating thing" Macy commented, a bit surprised,

"It was blatantly obvious from the minute she stepped onto the island. Perhaps you all need a vision check if you didn't see it." the Mienshao scoffed, leaning on his podium, "Now move on."

While some gave him looks, others were focused on Yang herself, who had her face buried in her paws.

* * *

" _I was going to guess him," Margaret admitted, "Not because of the slap incident, no, but because it must be an issue being a massive dick and nothing else."_

* * *

" _Did they HAVE to bring that up?" Yang whined, a massive blush on her face, "My mom's gonna be all over me about that when I get home…"_

* * *

"Moving on, then" Elizabeth stated, weary of Morgan's attitude, "This contestant is either an avid gamer, an orphan, or a distant relative of somebody else in the game."

"I feel as if we can rule out the last one" Alexandria started, "I'm sure something like that would have been mentioned if it was true."

"Maybe not if they are very distant. I'd put doubt on it, but it is something to think about" Winston replied, putting a hand to his chin.

"It _would_ explain why everyone finds you so familiar." Krieg joked, much to Alexandria's chagrin

"Oh em gee that is a GREAT idea!" Lana exclaimed, hastily pushing on her button

"The truth is distant relative!" Linda called out

"And it's Alexandria!" Lisa spoke afterwards

Both lights that flashed showed that of a wrong answer, causing disappointment from the triplets, except Lana, who turned to Krieg,

"I can't believe you would lie to us. So uncool." She chided, causing the Garchomp to chuckle.

"Who ever said I was cool?" He asked, shrugging it off.

"That was an effective waste of time." Morgan commented, "The gaming thing seems a bit too common to be something that should be revealed in this type of challenge. I'm putting my doubts on that."

"If that's the case though who is willing to admit they're an orphan?" Will asked, "That seems like it'd be a pretty sensitive topic to me."

"They could've just accepted it." Garth pointed out, "Sure it's usually a touchy subject but I'm sure that after all those years they moved on."

"Is it you then?" Tracy asked, looking at him, "Even I don't think I'd care so little."

"If it was me I wouldn't speak up." was the reply.

"Whatever then, I'm just gonna go with my gut again," Tracy then slammed on her button, "Gamer and Joseph, he seems like the type of loser to do only that."

"Hey!"

Like with the triplets, Tracy earned two wrong lights, which could only mean one thing.

"So it was the orphan part, huh," Nora said, then briefly looked around, "Huh, no lights are flashing for a self point though."

"Yeah we thought about that," Travis interjected, "We thought it'd be unfair if you could just guess right after that, so that's a no go."

"Damn, that would've been an easy win." Tracy complained,

"In any case, who would the question apply to?" Yang questioned looking around before suddenly pressing her button, "Is it Winston? Not to be rude but with his age I'd figure his parents aren't around."

Her light flashed wrong, shocking the Arcanine, "They aren't then?" she asked

"Technically they are, but it feels strange to consider somebody his age an orphan in terms of the normal definition. Know what I mean?" Travis explained, to which Yang shrugged at.

"Two guesses left then," Joseph muttered before pressing his own button, "Umm Garth?"

Yet another flash of wrongness.

"And then there was one just like that." Margaret noted, she then looked over at Krieg, "I don't suppose you know the status of your parents."

"I haven't seen them since I was a toddler." Krieg admitted. "They aren't dead, but I didn't have them around."

"Couldn't that kicked out question apply to you then even if it was false?" Will asked, to which the Garchomp shook his head,

"It was a mutual agreement, that's just how Garchomps raise their young." Was what he said, shrugging it off.

"So he's out then," Macy noted, and she looked around at everybody "I have no clue then."

Another press of the button, this one from Clara, "I'm honestly saying you Macy, you mentioned your grandpa a lot, which leads me to believe you are raised by them."

And then a third flash of wrong over Clara.

"N-no, they're around." Macy replied, a bit unsure of herself.

"Well then who the hell is it?" Tracy asked, impatient.

Then they saw two correct answers, they belonged to that of Sydney, who had a small smile on his face.

"You're an orphan huh? Not sure I expected that." Will admitted, to which Sydney gave a low laugh at,

"They were but temporary servants. I need no family to dictate how I bring myself into this universe." He claimed, which at this point the Tauros just stayed silent.

* * *

 _Macy was in the confessional, looking slightly uncomfortable, "I uh, don't like to talk about my parents much." She admitted, before quietly leaving._

* * *

" _Is that why he acts so weird?" Will questioned, confused about Sydney, "I don't know if I will ever understand a guy like him."_

* * *

" _They were unfit to be at my side." Sydney remarked, unphased by it being brought up, "More importantly was little Macy's reaction to being guessed. I will need to remember that. The flames can yet be cast."_

* * *

"Onto the next one. This contestant either got dumped in the middle of prom, never wants children, or was bullied for never being in a relationship." Elizabeth started, earning a whistle from Joseph,

"Really coming for somebody's love life here." He chuckled, before thinking to himself, "Hey uh, Winston, do you have any kids?"

"Six of them," The Abomasnow answered, to the surprise of Joseph,

"Six!?" He exclaimed, causing Winston to chuckle,

"We tried for seven, but it never came." He shrugged, enjoying the expressions on others faces.

* * *

" _Y-you gotta be kidding me. Six, almost seven!?" Needless to say Joseph was flabbergasted._

* * *

" _That was a mental image I didn't need." Garth remarked, a slightly unnerved look on his face._

* * *

"Are people really shallow enough to bully somebody for such a stupid reason?" Garth questioned, before being interrupted by the triplets,

"Pfft, having no boyfriend at our age is soooo lame!" Linda giggled, accompanied by her sisters, as if they did not even hear the comment just made.

"Yeah you must be totes uggo if you can't get a boyfriend by now." Lisa cackled in turn

"What a loser!" Lana commented, joining her sisters in amusement. All the while, Morgan turned to Garth,

"I suppose that answers your question." He said, receiving a nod from the Sandygast.

"I can't imagine who would dump somebody in the middle of prom either," Garth then mentioned, "Though that might be because I never went."

"You didn't go to prom?" Clara asked confused, "Why would you not?"

"I didn't care enough about the people there." was the answer and that was that.

"This is none of my business but I dumped somebody at prom, not the other way around." Dr. Sleep brought up, making confused faces turn to him,

"Why?" Yang asked first, eliciting a chuckle from the Hypno,

"She was visiting a dermatologist and never told me. I could've helped with her skin problems easily." He explained, which just made everyone more confused.

Alexandria hit her button, "Ignoring him I would like to guess that the truth is not wanting children. I hear that is rather common these days." Sure enough her light flashed in a way that pointed to her being correct.

"And you're correct." Travis nodded, "But who is that person who doesn't want them."

Another hit of the button quickly after that, "I'm saying Margaret," Garth said, seeming confident, "Based on our meetings yesterday I just get that vibe from her." And with that his light too flashed correct.

"Well that's four people with two points now, things are going smoothly." Travis started, nodding his head and writing.

"You got that from our meeting?" Margaret questioned, which caused the Sandygast to shrug the best he could,

"I just have good intuition about that kind of stuff." He said, which sufficed for the Misdreavus.

* * *

" _I guess in case anyone was gonna ask, I don't want kids because they're gross, annoying and ugly. I'd rather focus on a career." Margaret explained_

* * *

"As for the next question," Elizabeth read, looking deeply at the notecard, "This contestant is either an aspiring politician, a murderer, or an adult actor or actress."

The options got a round of confused looks from the contestants, "What kinda options are those?" Clara frowned, "The first one I can maybe get but why would you even have the other two?"

"I admit I'm not sure I would come clean about those, but at the same time who here would be a politician?" Winston queried, just as uneasy as her.

"Perhaps adult films is where I know you from my dear Alexandria?" Dr. Sleep joked, before putting his hands up upon seeing her vicious glare and blush, "I'm merely toying with you, of course."

"I dunno if I agree about not coming out as an adult actor to be honest," Joseph shrugged, "That's probably some serious cash money and fame."

"At the cost of your dignity, maybe." Margaret replied, "I don't really want to know other people make a living off of that kind of thing."

"What exactly does an adult actor mean?" Macy spoke up, looking around at everyone. Upon saying this, a majority of contestants got a concerned look on their face.

"It's best if you don't know the finer details sweetie." Clara said, putting a paw to her lips which only further confused the Shinx.

"Why not? What's so bad about it?" She pried, which only made the situation worse off.

"Really it isn't something you should be knowing about at your age." Winston said, trying to dodge the topic.

"I hate to say you should wait til you're older, but you really should do just that." Will murmured, looking around at everyone, before Tracy spoke up,

"Why can't she know now? She's just gonna learn one day, why not speed that up?" She spoke, rolling her eyes at the matter, "This whole conversation is just a waste of time."

"I agree," Was the interjection Morgan brought in, "Not only is the matter something that will likely come up in the near future anyway, describing it is beyond irrelevant to this game. If anything it makes it easier on us knowing she probably isn't the one to be the pick."

"I can't say I know too much about what kids discuss these days, but if it's anything like what was discussed where I grew up I'm surprised she doesn't know." Krieg admitted, a bit amused by the whole thing.

"So, can I know or…" Macy started, before being cut off by a flurry of shouts, of "NO!" which even Travis joined in on.

The aforementioned Sableye then turned to his fellow host and muttered, "Maybe including that one was a mistake eh?" before she gave him the side eye

" _You_ were the one who included it in the first place." She retorted, which caused him to sheepishly chuckle.

"I… thought it'd be funny?" He excused himself, which only led to Elizabeth sighing.

"Nevermind. Everyone, to stop this discussion before it takes a turn for the worst, I'll give you a hand and say that's not the truth. Move on. _Please._ " She urged, which was complied with.

"So, either a politician or a murderer." Joseph thought aloud, before chuckling to himself, "Hard to say which one is worse, am I right?"

"I would prefer we not get into political opinions, even if that is the answer." Alexandria replied, still a bit uncomfortable from the earlier conversation.

"You'd be amazed that the two overlap somewhat often." Dr. Sleep interrupted, "Truthfully dealing with patients like that is quite intriguing."

"You are probably the only person who would find that intriguing." Garth drawled, giving the doctor a look.

"Well, who can we rule out for this whole ordeal?" Will asked, looking around, "Right off the bat I doubt that it's the triplets we have to worry about."

"You are so right Wally." Lana agreed, nodding at the Tauros,

"I would NEVER kill someone, never." Lisa stated, seeming dead serious.

"I think I like fell asleep during the classes about politics." Linda admitted, getting a giggle out of the other two heads.

"You SO did. It was hilarious and kinda cute." Lisa beamed, causing her sister to brighten up,

"Aww really? You are so sweet Lisa!" Linda cheered, the three all cooed and squealed to themselves as everyone else carried on.

"If they keep this up the murderer part might just apply to me." Margaret groaned, glaring at the Dodrio.

"Wally…?" Will pondered, giving them a confused look,

"Ignoring them, what are some other easy options to take off?" Nora spoke up, looking around at everyone, before Yang decided to speak,

"Well, I really think that-"

The Arcanine was interrupted by the press of a button, and everyone turned to the direction of Morgan, who was using his free hand to clutch his head,

"Enough of this nonsense. Murder is the truth, Krieg is the contestant." He growled, annoyed by everybody else,

"How can you be so sure of-" Before Tracy could continue, she was cut off by the fact that the light flashed the correct color. Both times in fact. And for a while there was a stunned silence among the contestants. Joseph was the first to speak up, turning to the Garchomp beside him.

"Krieg are you… really a murderer." He softly said, and on Krieg's face was not his normal grin, but a rather neutral look, and his arms were folded.

"That is the truth, yes." The land shark admitted, which caused a few gasps among everybody,

"No way…" Tracy spoke under her breath, joining everybody but Krieg and Morgan in the crowd of shocked contestants,

"We are in this game with a killer?" Nora said to nobody in particular, shaking slightly at the fact, and then there were a trio of screams, all of which came from the triplets.

"There's a killer next to us!? I don't wanna die!" Lana screamed, terrified at the prospect

"Y'know I'm with her for once, I don't think I feel right about that." Will admitted, looking unsure of the situation.

"I get your reactions, really I do." Krieg spoke up, seeming to be rather calmer than one may expect, "I can't change what you all think about this, but yes, I am a murderer. That's why I've been in prison."

"C-can we really be in a game with somebody like him?" Macy asked wide eyed to the hosts, who were attempting to take control,

"If you would let me explain-" Elizabeth started, before being cut off.

"I don't really feel safe about all of this." Clara admitted, giving a nervous look directed at Krieg,

"Well you will once I can tell you-" the Mawile tried again, yet again failing

"Screw this, I don't wanna be anywhere near a-"

"QUIET EVERYONE!" everybody, even those less phased were frozen in place by the voice that erupted from the host. They all turned to her, as she had an even more serious look upon her face.

"Yes, it is true that Krieg has killed in the past. Yes he is in prison for that and has served over 10 years due to it. He is under very close watch by both us and his prison, he was only allowed to join due to his very good behavior in prison, it was his warden's idea. Under no circumstances will I allow anything to happen to you during this game because of him, nor will I tolerate any sort of this behavior simply because of that." She explained, which nobody responded to. "Now, moving on, as mentioned Morgan was correct, and he now has a total of four points, placing him in the lead. On to the next question."

Even still, the majority of contestants looked at each other, uncomfortable about everything.

* * *

" _I had a feeling it would come up, and once I heard the murder option I was certain," Morgan explained, seeming a bit less unnerved than the others, "I have no idea what happened, and it isn't my place to act out because of it. I will ask him about everything in time."_

* * *

 _Clara looked around, still a bit uncomfortable, "That was… something. I don't really know how to feel about him right now. Especially with him acting so casual. I really don't know."_

* * *

" _The chaos that ensued was truly magnificent." Sydney chuckled, amused more than afraid, "I've learned something truly noteworthy today. He will be a fantastic vessel."_

* * *

" _To think he was like that all this time." Tracy stated, even she was feeling the shock of it all, before shaking it off, "Well, at least now I won't feel as bad when I have to kick his ass."_

* * *

 _Lastly was Krieg himself, who wore a surprisingly somber look, "I have nothing to say in my defense. It happened and that's all I can really say right now. I don't expect people to want to be around me or talk to me, or even trust me. All I can say is that I hope I can gain all that."_

* * *

"This next contestant did one of these actions as a child: was a member of the scouts, was a beauty pageant contestant, or was a martial artist." thankfully for the contestants this question seemed as if it would be far less chaotic than the last one,

"Well an obvious choice would be Morgan and martial arts," Joseph thought aloud, earning a scoff from the minx,

"Not all fighting types practice martial arts you cretin." Was what he said, earning a glare from Joseph,

"Fine, what about a beauty pageant contestant? You sure as hell are a drama queen." he retorted, causing Morgan to roll his eyes,

"Don't kid yourself. I'm no drama queen, I just don't enjoy tolerating those beneath me."

"Don't know how you see anyone beneath you with your head so far up your ass."

"Waste your time with somebody on your level, troglodyte."

"Will you both shut up?" Margaret growled, "Somehow you're more annoying than the Dodrio." Which was met with a glare from the triplets,

"We are NOT annoying uggo!" Lisa called out, which was met with no response other than an eye roll.

Alexandria hit the button on her podium, interrupting the conversations, "At the risk of sounding as if I am making assumptions, I would like to guess it is in fact the martial arts truth. Many Pokemon are taught to fight as is." her light flashed with the correct answer lights, pleasing her.

"That's step one down," Travis noted, before seeing another light go off, "And here comes step two."

"So I wanna say Tracy?" Will spoke up, staring down at his button, "She just seems like the type of person that would go into it for the competition aspect." His light too flashed with the lights of being correct, and was only met with a grin from Tracy,

"Hell yeah I am, was the best one there too!" She bragged as Travis wrote down more scores.

"Now for the next question," Elizabeth spoke out, "This contestant is either from a rich family, a proud single parent, or a former medical professional."

Instantly the button was hit by Macy, "Rich and Clara are the answers!" She shouted excitedly, and grew even more excited when she saw double correct flashings.

"You're rich? Why are you in this competition then?" Garth questioned the feline. Were he able to raise an eyebrow he would've done so.

"I wanted to show my parents that I don't need to be taken care of anymore." She explained, which only raised more confusion.

"Aaaaand instead of college, a job, or even just moving out you chose this?" the Sandygast pressed on, which was strange to Clara,

"What's wrong with that?"

"Seems like a poor way of doing things, but what do I know?"

* * *

" _I really don't see an issue." Clara said, looking at her paws rather boredly, "Is wanting to prove my independence a bad thing?"_

* * *

"Honestly I would've said former medical professional and Dr. Sleep if he were competing." Will admitted,

"I-is he even a medical professional?" Yang asked, looking at the Hypno,

"I'll have you know I am a current licensed professional. I do not have my license with me of course, but I certainly have one."

"Right," Margaret drawled, cocking an eyebrow.

"So our next contestant," Began Elizabeth, "They either live with a single parent, live with a same sex partner, or live with nobody but a roommate they hate."

"That last one is a mood." Margaret admitted, smirking slightly,

A button was hit, this one by none other than Winston, "I would say it's the first option. I know something like that is very common."

Evidently, he was met with the correct flashes, which only lead to the question of who it was.

"We've established it isn't Macy or Sydney," Will listed, tapping his podium softly, "Winston is too old, Clara mentioned parents plural so I don't think it's her, and Krieg, is, uh, in prison and all. And a lot of us seem as if they live on their own."

Another button was pressed, this being Tracy's "Yo Yang, I'm betting it's you!" Her light flashed with an incorrect light however, leading her to shout "Damn it!"

Another light was quickly pressed, this time it was Morgan, "I am guessing Joseph. I'm willing to believe somebody hated him so much they left a long time ago."

"Hey you watch your mouth you piece of-" Before Joseph could continue, the lights of being correct flashed.

"Well, I guess that settles it," Travis noted, whistling to himself, "The winner of the first challenge is Morgan. Congrats dude, you can't be voted for this time around."

"Naturally." He responded, turning his back to leave. "I no longer wish to speak with you all. I will see you all at the vote." as he walked away, several contestants looked at each other, some more annoyed than others,

"Would it kill him to be at least a little humble?" Clara whispered to Will, who shrugged,

"Well, I'm sure he woulda been easy pickings if he hadn't won tonight." he replied, as Elizabeth cleared her throat.

"And with that, let us move to the mess hall, I'm sure you all are starving. After that we can conduct the voting." She took her leave as well, with the remaining contestants following.

* * *

Eventually, everybody was inside the mess hall, with JJ working on fixing everybody a meal. True to his job, everybody was receiving sandwiches topped with various meats cheeses and vegetables.

"Hey, isn't that…?" Travis spoke up upon seeing it, which caused the Turtonator to grin,

"Jill's Stars Sandwich? You bet your ass it is, Purp." He remarked, passing one to Tracy, "I'm a king at making these things by now. Sure as hell beats instant noodles." With the teasing remark Travis looked away,

"No need to bring that back…" He muttered, before leaning against the wall. He had already eaten prior, so he was mostly there to make sure nothing bad happened between contestants.

Most of the contestants had broken up into small groups or duos to eat their meals, with the exceptions of Sydney and Krieg, who were both seated by themselves.

"This sandwich is pretty damn good I gotta say." Joseph commented, giving a thumbs up to JJ, "If you make em like this all the time I'd definitely give you business."

"Same honestly," Will confirmed, having already finished his, "I dunno what's all in this, but I could probably eat two or three of these if I wanted."

"I may do that myself," Clara admitted, also having finished hers, "I am used to high quality foods, but this was a very pleasant surprise."

"Definitely." Alexandria agreed, "But sandwiches aside, who do you think will be the one going home tonight?"

"If I'm gonna be honest? Krieg really made a bad impression after what came out today." Joseph shrugged, staring at his table, "Nothing against the guy but I don't think many people want a dude that killed someone around."

"Not trying for Tracy anymore?" Will joked, trying to dance around the awkward situation of Krieg.

"She's definitely somebody I'd wanna avoid, but I feel like I can deal with her anytime. If it were up to me though I'd be kicking out Morgan."

"He's… less than pleasant." Clara agreed, "Why does he always have to respond so negatively to everything?"

"I suppose some people are just like that." Alexandria shrugged.

Meanwhile with a separate table, Nora and Macy were seated on one end, with Margaret and Garth on the other.

"So how's the first day treating you?" Macy asked Nora, who was casually flipping through another book,

"Well I would've liked to win, but I'm sure everybody wanted that." She said, though didn't seem particularly upset, "I can't say anything bad happened to me. And I have a good feeling that I'll stick around."

"I hope so." Macy agreed, smiling, "I hope neither of us leaves."

"At the moment neither of you seem like you painted targets on your back, so that's a good start." Garth noted, "Come to think of it, this challenge really wasn't useful for identifying too many threats aside from the obvious."

"I take it that's who you're going for?" Margaret questioned him,

"I'm not sure yet. I'd rather I knew a good consensus so I'm not wasting my vote."

"Fair enough I guess."

"Hey Margaret, do you have a shelter yet?" Nora spoke up, giving her friend a look, "If you want, I found a nice place with a few rooms you can share with Macy and I."

"I'd prefer to live alone, so no thanks" the ghost answered, which disappointed Nora slightly, however she shrugged it off, "Garth?"

"I'm just gonna call the beach my home. Only makes sense."

Another table involved the odd trio of the triplets, Dr. Sleep, and Yang. Dr. Sleep seemed as if he was thinking, and Yang looked rather triplets were of course talking among themselves,

"So like, when we get home I soooo want to ask Gavin out." Lana admitted, which was met with excitement from the other two heads,

"You should totally do it! You two would be so cute together!" Lisa cheered

"You really think so?"

"Yes girl, you get him. He so wants you." Linda encouraged, which per usual was met with squealing from all three.

"Hmmm, very intriguing indeed." Dr. Sleep muttered, watching the trio. Yang looked at him strangely,

"Uh, what is?" She asked, making the doctor turn to her,

"Tell me, regarding these three what would you classify them as? Three separate individuals, or one being?" to this the Arcanine had no response,

"Ummm, I don't really know? Why do you ask?"

"Simple, I am curious if I would charge them triple for my services, or treat them as one patient. I always need to consider these things."

"I would say one patient? I don't know much about medical stuff but they are one body so they can't really leave each other."

"I suppose that is true, and morally some may see it as wrong to charge triple. However they do possess three brains, and that's what my services largely focus on."

"Oh. Uhhhhh…" Yang really wasn't sure how to respond, as the fields of study were beyond her, and she wasn't sure how or why she was involved in the doctor's questions and research.

Sydney was off by himself, but from the corner of his eye, he noticed another person sit across from him. This was none other than Winston,

"Good evening Sydney, I was thinking you may enjoy some company." The Abomasnow greeted, which Sydney gave him a look for,

"Hm, interesting, a being approaches and wishes to be my companion. I must decline. You know not the infinite wealth of desolation I can bring forth. You are unprepared for such a matter. You hold no interest for me. Please leave my presence now."

Unsure how to respond, the Abomasnow tilted his head, "Do you want to be alone then? I suppose if that's what you want I won't stop you." With that he picked up his tray and left, Sydney watching the entire time,

"What a fool," The Absol muttered as he watched, "He holds none of the darkness of the abyss, at least that I am aware of. Mark my words though, I will destroy you. And everything you hold dear."

Also by himself was Krieg, who had expected this. Seeing as the others largely wished to avoid him, and Morgan was nowhere to be found, it was not hard to imagine why he would be isolated. That is until Tracy pulled up.

"Yo!" She greeted, taking a seat across from Krieg, who looked up,

"So somebody's coming over to me after all then." He commented, a bit amused, "I guess there's something to be said about your bravery."

"You mean the killer thing?" She asked, folding her arms, "Well yeah, I'm surprised, but even something like that ain't gonna stop me. I'll still take you down, and that's just gonna make me feel even better about it!"

"You very well might," Krieg chuckled, "I like your attitude kid. Hopefully we get a physical challenge soon so I can show you what I'm like once I go all out."

"You're on shark skin, I'll make you wish you stayed behind bars!" Tracy bragged, "Y'know for a killer criminal or whatever I think you're one of the cooler people here. Somebody that might actually be worth my time competing against."

"I suppose we'll have to see who makes it to the end then. Survival of the fittest." Krieg commented, his grin fully restored,

"Hell yeah, and nobody's more fit than I am!"

"We shall soon put that to the test."

As Travis leaned against the wall, he noticed JJ approach him, a cocky grin on his face, "So how bout it diamond dork? Still unsure how good of a cook I am?"

"Well, you sure did please everyone." Travis nodded, a bit uncomfortable with JJ being around him, "Good job on that. Sorry I said some things that I shouldn't have."

"Damn right you did." JJ sneered, putting the Sableye in a headlock, "Guess I'm sorry too, but only cuz I'll be fired otherwise. Don't think I won't stop fucking with you little dude." Dropping Travis down, JJ swaggered back to his station, leaving the host to rub his head.

"Attention everybody," a voice com rang out, bearing the voice of Elizabeth, "In five minutes report down to the square again and we will commence voting."

Seeing that everyone was finished, and nobody really had anything left to say, Travis shrugged, and motioned everyone to follow him, "Just come with me everyone, might as well go early right?" Nobody argued, and followed him out the door.

* * *

Once the group made it back to the square, they noticed Elizabeth there, as well as Morgan.

"So that's where you were," Will noted, staring at the minx,

"As I said I had no conversations I wished to have with you all. Forcing myself to be with all of you would be a waste of all of our times."

"So why are we back here?" Yang questioned, looking at the host instead of Morgan, "Is this where we're supposed to vote?"

"Yes, but that comes in a bit," She replied, before gesturing to the podiums from earlier, "Everybody move back to where you were seated in the challenge."

"What, are we having a part two?" Joseph asked, finding his spot,

"No, but we are going to introduce a new concept." Was the response,

"New concept?" Alexandria asked.

"Yeah, one we haven't seen any other show do," Travis spoke up, walking over to his fellow host, "Elimination Debates. Not a final title, but I couldn't think of anything catchy."

"What exactly does that entail?" Nora questioned, which the hosts were happy to explain,

"Everybody will talk about what they intend to do for voting, and get to say their piece of who they want to go, people who are common picks can get to defend themselves, and perhaps even a brand new pick will come up and be the prime target." Elizabeth explained,

"Interesting, that sounds like a very real game changer." Garth nodded, intrigued by the concept.

"We will go in reverse alphabetical order of who you all intend to vote for, starting with Dr. Sleep and working down."

"Reverse alphabetical order now? Well it is different." Alexandria noted, curious if it was in response to her mentioning of it earlier.

"Dr. Sleep, if you would please,"

The doctor then cleared his throat, "Right, so who I am voting for. I see no better option frankly…" then he suddenly pointed his finger directly at Will "Than you!"

"W-why me!?" Will stammered, bewildered by the fact that he was the choice,

"I don't tolerate patients who see other doctors. I am perfectly able to perform any therapy that you need." Dr. Sleep seethed, glaring daggers at the Tauros,

"I don't even know you!"

"That is of no matter I can assist you with or without knowing your name address and availability for kidney transplants!"

"Why do you need to know about my kidneys!?"

"You never know!"

As everybody watched the bizarre argument, Yang felt it was her time to speak up, "So, uh, if it's reverse alphabetical then I'm next right?" she got a nod from the hosts, "Let's see… I, uh, vote Garth! Yeah…"

"Oh?" the aforementioned Sandygast looked over at the Arcanine, causing her to recoil

"Because you're, like, not a threat at all! Yeah! You're just gonna get in the way!" Yang tried her best to put on a brave act, though almost everybody could see completely through it, with the exception of,

"Hell yeah! You go girl!" Tracy cheered on Yang, unaware she was completely lying. Garth, however, was unamused.

"I fail to see what makes me in particular a non threat, but whatever." He commented, rolling his eyes at the canine.

"Quite truthfully, I really don't have much of an idea who to vote for," Winston admitted, looking around, "It's not something I found myself thinking about."

"Well I think most of us are voting for Krieg if you wanna bandwagon off that." Joseph replied, shrugging his shoulders.

"I'm not really sure if that's the right idea. I like to believe that he could possibly change."

"Well I'm sure not taking that chance," Will responded, "Even if he did he seems like he's the strongest one here, and I'd rather not have somebody who is gonna crush it at physical challenges. I'm voting Krieg."

"Strongest? I could take him." Tracy grinned.

"We'll see." Krieg returned the challenge with his own grin, which caused Joseph to look at the two,

"Well at least she's off my back." He muttered, but Tracy heard him regardless,

"Hey monkey man, you're lucky I'm not booting you yet! I was gonna but then my girl Yang mentioned Garth so see ya no arms!"

"You can't be serious." Garth groaned, annoyed that of all the reasons to go first, that was it.

"So Sydney is next right?" Macy spoke up, giving the Absol a look,

"My vote matters not. I intend to vote in such a manner that I get what I desire out of this, none of you. The ones who attempt to fan the flames are who I shall sink my maw into." Nobody was sure what to make of what Sydney just said,

"Does anybody have a translator or anything for whatever that was?" Nora asked, truly puzzled, "And I thought I spoke weird."

"Seriously, he talks like he's an edgy fanfiction." Margaret commented.

"I guess with that, I'm going next." Nora continued, "I really think it's for the best that I vote Krieg out. I'm not comfortable having somebody like him around, even if the hosts say they will make sure nothing happens."

Krieg remained silent, knowing he would be fighting a losing battle at these votes and reasons.

"So that means Morgan is next," Alexandria noted, looking at the Mienshao,

"I'd like to reserve my opinions for later." Was all he said.

"Really? You? The guy who is always ready to give his two cents?" Joseph questioned, which was met with an eye roll,

"Stop talking. I have reasons for my want to go last. I know that if I spoke now I would be talked over and nobody would bother to listen."

"You could at least say who your target is." Clara pressed, "You have immunity, what could you really be worried about?"

"If he didn't he'd probably be on the chopping block," Joseph interjected, "Dude's not exactly somebody I want to hang around."

"Comments like that will only prove my point later."

"Whatever you say."

"I guess that means it's my turn if he isn't gonna talk." Margaret started, "Honestly I'm probably in a minority here but I'd rather vote Clara than Krieg."

"Me? Why?" Clara questioned, confused,

"I thought about what was brought up during the challenge. You really have no reason to be here in my eyes. You're already rich and whatever, you're just doing this for a reason that could be done somewhere else." the ghost explained, though it was not enough,

"What's wrong with my reasoning? What's the big issue with wanting to prove that I can live on my own?"

"The fact that you don't need to be here to do that. Let somebody who actually needs the money win."

"What, like an actual murderer?"

"I'm sure he has a better reasoning than you do."

"What's your reason for joining then?"

"I didn't want to be around people in my actual life for a while."

"Oh yeah, that's really a better reason than mine. Yours can be done without being here too you know. It's called moving."

"Which is also an answer to _your_ reason."

"Um, may I talk please?" Macy asked, causing the two girls to look at her, neither pleased, but that not being the Shinx's fault. "Like a lot of others I think I'm going to vote for Krieg. I'm kind of scared of the idea that I could be having to compete with somebody who might try and kill me."

Yet again Krieg remained silent, all the while Morgan rolled his eyes.

"Guess we have an idea of who the popular pick is at least." Will spoke up, "Though I guess it's probably not that surprising."

"Well, yeah, if you're a killer it's probably not a good idea for others to keep you around." Clara responded.

"Now this next vote I'm interested in," Winston spoke up, "I haven't heard anything from the triplets yet."

"So like, can we vote three times?" Linda asked Elizabeth, who merely shook her head no.

"Okay then like, we are voting for Margaret." Lisa spoke, which caused the Misdreavus to cock an eyebrow

"She is totes rude. And a complete uggo." Lana reasoned, causing the other heads to giggle,

"And she probably has no boyfriend!" Lisa jeered in response,

"No friends at all even!" Linda joined in

"She probably doesn't even get to talk with the popular kids."

"I bet she like gets invited to no parties."

"Totally, Gavin would SO not care about her."

"I know right? If she went to our school we would never have to worry about her asking him to prom."

"Totes."

"Doesn't she hate children too?"

"I do, and I happen to be listening to some." Margaret drawled, irritated not due to the fact she was the subject of their conversation, but more that they were just annoying to her.

"Better reasoning than she gave." Commented Clara, who got a look from the ghost,

"Don't even start."

"So if that's all, then that means…" Yang started, before setting her eyes on somebody, "It's Krieg's turn."

In an instant, all eyes were on the Garchomp. He looked around as nobody said a word, and then he sighed, "I suppose I can't really stay silent now can I?" He started, before getting to his feet. "I won't try and change your minds about everything you learned today. There's no true denying everything that happened. I won't beg for forgiveness either. You are all free to view me as you see fit. I only hope that you have trust in me. I don't think I deserve forgiveness, and frankly I don't want it. As for my vote, I suppose I will spread my arms and see where the wind takes me with that." With those words he sat back down.

"I appreciate you not attempting to deflect the vote on to anybody else, if nothing else." Alexandria started, giving a neutral look.

"Look man, you seem like an alright guy, but you gotta understand how weird it is talking with somebody who actually killed someone else." Joseph told him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm aware. I once felt that way as well." Krieg admitted, giving a somewhat solemn look, "I won't judge you for how you feel. If I am to be your vote than so be it."

"To be honest, you were." Joseph admitted as well, "It just feels like something I should do."

"I understand."

"It appears you have gone silent," Sydney spoke up, staring at Morgan, who had been distant since Krieg's turn began, "Tell me, do you wish to continue the flames of terror alongside me? Or perhaps your speech later will be a dousing. I would choose my words carefully."

"I will speak when I'm ready." Was all Morgan said.

"Anything else you have to say Krieg?" Winston asked, "I'm willing to give you a chance if you do."

"I think that's it. Thank you." the Garchomp replied, and everything fell to silence.

"I guess since Joseph sorta already said, that means it's my turn," Garth spoke, "And yeah, I think I'm with Margaret, Clara seems like the choice that should go."

"Both of the ghosts are against me then?" Clara asked cocking an eyebrow, "Let me guess, I'm not deserving to be here?"

"Pretty much."

"And I'm sure you have a fantastic reasoning to be here."

"Not particularly."

"Then why are you?"

"I felt like I could win."

"Lovely reason."

"Thanks. Hope it doesn't get in the way of you having a fortune on top of your fortune."

"It won't."

"It is your turn isn't it?" Margaret started, giving the cat a look, "Are you going to vote one of us because we decided to go against you?"

"No, I still want to vote Krieg." Clara stated, "I'm sure neither of you have much chance in the long run, so I'll wait."

"Somehow I feel as if Krieg at least has good reason to be here." Garth commented.

"Can we, uh, move on from this?" Yang asked, "We just need to hear from Alexandria, then what Morgan wants to talk about."

"I really do not have much to say, I too am planning to vote for Krieg." Alexandria stated, looking at Morgan, "Do you wish to speak your mind now?"

"If there is nothing else, yes, I would." This time Morgan began to stand up. "As I thought Krieg is the popular pick to go home."

"Is that really a surprise?" Will asked, confused by the response,

"Not at all. But I'm somehow even more disappointed in all of you. How dull can you be?" the minx stated,

"And what's that mean?" Joseph asked, an annoyed look on his face,

"You all are truly idiotic if you are going to send him home based off of the flawed reasoning of him being a killer."

"So what, you're just okay with him being here despite that?"

"Let me finish. You all know that he murdered somebody, but nothing more. You are unaware of anything other than that. Is that not an incomplete set of knowledge? You all assume that he is just going to kill again. There are several things blatantly wrong with that. First and foremost is that he is under watch not only by the hosts, but by his own prison. He would have to be an idiot if he chose to kill under those circumstances. Not only that but he's on television right now. Not only would the media be up in arms, but law enforcement everywhere would be giving him a hard time. Furthermore it's making the assumption that he is just a mindless killer when that is most likely not the case." As he took a breath, he cast an eye to Elizabeth, "By chance, do you have Krieg's records? Or at least, based on that question do you have a good estimate of time for when what he did took place?"

"It was twelve years ago." Elizabeth confirmed, which Morgan nodded at.

"Twelve years. And since then he has been in prison for at least ten of those, possibly all twelve. He claimed to have seen and spoken with a therapist, supposedly there were no reports of him doing anything else in the prison. As a matter of fact the warden allowed him to be here due to his good behavior. I assume that he would not have been accepted if he didn't have good behavior as well. Based on that knowledge, I can infer that he has spent a lot of time rehabilitating. To toss all of that away here would make Krieg such a cretin that I couldn't even comprehend the logic behind that. Tell me, in what world would you even have to worry about such a stupid fear as Krieg trying something with these circumstances in mind?"

"Well, he-" Macy began, before promptly being cut off,

"Let's not forget the fact that none of us have any clue what happened. All of you are assuming that he did it ruthlessly and of his own free will. There are several things wrong with that if we don't have the proper background. It could have been an accident, he could have been paid to do it, he could have even been asked by the one he killed and then his defense was found illogical. We don't know. Frankly the fact that you all are so ready to cast him aside without any existing knowledge other than what he did without the how or why is sickening. And you wonder why I am consistently negative towards all of you."

Everybody was silent for a while. Morgan had brought up some good points, and nobody seemed ready to fully refute him at the time. It was a few minutes until Nora spoke up.

"I understand what you're saying," She started, a bit softer than he was, "But one thing I think needs mentioning is the fact that physically he's the strongest one here. In a game without teams, letting somebody like that by can be a big mistake."

"Do we know for a fact he's the strongest?" Morgan challenged, turning his attention to the alien. "We are again making assumptions based on the bare minimum we know about him. Granted yes, Garchomp are naturally physically strong, but because our only challenge so far has been based primarily on knowledge and guesswork, we have no idea how strong he is. Tauros and Abomasnow are also naturally strong, as are Mienshao. And then there's the fact that Tracy is a recognized athlete and from what we know of her, former martial artist who by her claims was undefeated. Claiming that he's a physical threat with no knowledge of such fact is quite honestly idiotic."

Again nobody spoke. Some contestants had looks of consideration, others were a bit annoyed at the words spoken by Morgan. Krieg seemed to have a look of complete shock on his face. Even he was unprepared for this.

"I happen to agree with the notion of voting Clara, as well," He continued, now turning his gaze to her, "I have no desire to see somebody undeserving of money potentially win. If you already are rich as I am told then I see no purpose in your being here. You can argue the validity of your reason all you want, but it is quite honestly a rather pathetic one. Numerous options to show your desired independence are available, and you don't need to be here to prove that. And unlike Krieg, who may I also mention has a reason to be here, you are in fact somebody we know is a threat. You have connections with quite a few people from what I've seen, you are at least acquainted with several people already. In my eyes, a social threat is far more of a concern than a mere strength threat who may not even be that. Sure a strength threat can win a challenge, but a social threat can fly to the end without needing to lift a finger, regardless of challenge performance."

As much as Clara wanted to argue his points, even she didn't have it in her. All she could do is look around, and glare at Margaret for even bringing her name up.

"I have nothing else to say," Morgan concluded, facing away from everybody, "If you truly are going to vote him just based off of these petty reasons that are filled with fallacies, then you have my contempt."

Still nobody spoke, until Travis let out a low whistle, "Can't say I expected that." He spoke to nobody in particular. "Guess with that, everybody is done debating, please, go to the confessional and cast your votes, then meet back here."

* * *

In time everybody seemed to have cast their votes and returned, seated back at their respective stands. Travis seemed to now have a pile of notecards in his hand, "Apologies in advance, we don't have anything to give you to show that you're safe." he chuckled sheepishly, though nobody seemed to particularly care.

"We will tell you if you are safe or not, I'm sure you don't need much explanation." Elizabeth started, and everybody nodded.

"With no votes to their name; Alexandria, Garth, Joseph, Macy, Morgan, Nora, Sydney, Tracy, Winston, Yang and Dr. Sleep. All of you please stand near me." Everybody did as told and approached her.

"With one vote, Will is safe." Still confused by the ordeal that caused him to be voted for, Will walked up to Elizabeth, attempting to ignore the glare he was receiving from Dr. Sleep.

"With one vote, Lisa, Lana & Linda are safe." All three triplets loudly squealed at this fact and rushed over to where everybody else was.

"With two votes, Margaret is safe." The ghost rolled her eyes, knowing who each of the two votes were.

"Real mature." She drawled, and in response the triplets collectively blew raspberries at her, while Clara merely smirked.

"I am as willing to be petty as you are." She remarked, which only caused the ghost to shake her head.

"Down to the final two, who's it gonna be?" Travis asked, looking between the two.

Clara for her part seemed relaxed, if only slightly. On the other hand, Krieg was silent, his face expressionless.

"One of you received five votes, and the other seven." Elizabeth stated, looking between the two, and passing the cards back to Travis.

"The one who is staying though is…"

As everybody looked on, Clara stared at the two hosts expectantly.

Krieg closed his eyes and looked down.

A silence invaded the air. Not even the triplets could speak.

Who was going to be chosen to leave first? The rich girl with social status, or the known murderer who could be a great danger physically.

Who would it be?

Who would stay, and who would go?

The answer…

Lied in the cards.

"Krieg. You managed to obtain five votes and are safe."

Both of the remaining two were shocked, it was difficult to tell who moreso. Krieg seemed astonished the fact he was given the opportunity to stay, as was Clara, who was especially surprised that that happened over her staying.

"Me? I-I'm going home?" Clara stammered out, bewildered.

"That's right, Clara. You are the first eliminated contestant on StarStream City." Elizabeth spoke

"So over the murderer? You guys chose an actual killer over somebody who just wants to live freely?"

"For the last time, you don't need to do that here." Garth groaned, annoyed at the feline by this point, "Besides, Morgan brought up a good point about your social game, which if you ask me isn't even that independant in the first place."

"Hypocritical even." Margaret agreed, causing the Liepard to glare at her,

"This is your fault you know, I was going to be able to stay here until you had to mention me." Clara chided, which the Misdreavus didn't seem to care about.

"Sorry not sorry."

"Whatever, I hope you and your ghost boyfriend are next." And with that Clara turned to the hosts, "I guess it's time for me to go?"

"As soon as you get your things." Travis nodded. Clara sighed and looked at everyone,

"I can't say I understand why I'm the one going, but I guess this is it." With that Travis began walking away, with Clara following him.

"Anybody who wishes to see Clara off is welcome to do so." Elizabeth spoke, and with that, a group consisting of Joseph, Alexandria, Macy, and Will all departed as well. "As for the rest of you, you are free to spend the night however you please. I would advise seeking out shelter though." And so everybody else went their separate ways.

* * *

" _I get where Morgan is coming from, but I still think that I am voting for Krieg. I truly understand that we have no idea of what the circumstances behind everything were, but I would not like to risk anything bad happening." Alexandria stated, huddled up in the confessional._

* * *

" _I was going to vote Krieg, but since he is going home anyway I don't think it will hurt if I send a vote Margaret's way." Clara said, glaring at the camera upon saying the Misdreavus' name._

* * *

" _I never considered social aspects to be honest," Garth noted, "I only really thought about my own. Good catch Morgan, thanks for making voting Clara that much easier."_

* * *

 _Joseph shrugged, "Sorry Krieg, but everybody else seems to want it still, and I don't feel right voting out Clara._

* * *

 _Krieg frowned, silent for a while before speaking up, "I truly didn't expect Morgan to say all of what he did. I owe him a great deal for that. I suppose that the most common pick that wasn't myself would be Clara, so I'll follow that."_

* * *

" _Pfft, Margaret is a loser, we're voting her." Lisa said, as the other heads giggled._

* * *

" _Part of me wants to think that maybe Krieg has changed since he did that," Macy admitted, "But I really don't know, and I don't want to vote for Clara. Sorry Krieg. I hope things get better for you."_

* * *

" _Clara, I wanted to vote you for a long time, and your attitude towards it only strengthened that. Good riddance." Margaret groaned, annoyed at the arguments that took place._

* * *

" _I don't regret a single word I said." Morgan started, folding his arms, "The way in which they were reacting to Krieg is something I could not allow. If it isn't painfully obvious I too am voting for Clara. She has no right to be here and act as if she has a moral high ground."_

* * *

" _There are a lot of things we don't know about Krieg." Nora admitted, but then looked up, "But one of those is not knowing if we can trust him, so I still vote him."_

* * *

" _My what unimaginable chaos was wrought from this day." Sydney laughed, thoroughly amused, "The flames have more than been ignited, they tower! Krieg's existence is going to further ignite the flames, while Clara merely attempts to douse them. A douser is unacceptable in my vision."_

* * *

" _Yeah, Clara can go. I guess I don't really have an answer for the whole social thing. Whatever, she sucks." Tracy shrugged._

* * *

" _I really do think that Krieg can change, I know I'm trying to. But I don't know if this is the right way, so I'm voting him." Will explained, a bit unsure._

* * *

" _I like to believe in second chances." Winston started, a thoughtful look on his face, "And I'm willing to provide Krieg with one for now. As for my vote, I will go with Lisa, Lana and Linda. I hold nothing against them, but I don't see them going home, so I don't think this will cause tension."_

* * *

" _I uh, overheard Tracy is voting Clara." Yang started, looking a bit uncomfortable, "And I like to think that's how I'm expected to vote, so I think I'll go with that too. Krieg is uh, a good challenge?"_

* * *

" _Will, you insult me by visiting another therapist. Leave my sight at once." Dr. Sleep seethed, folding his arms._

* * *

And so Clara arrived back at the shipyard, accompanied by the hosts and all those who wished to see her off. "Well Clara this is it," Travis started, patting her on the back, "Hope you could enjoy yourself here, short lived as your time was."

"I suppose for the most part I did." She said, looking to those who joined her. "I appreciate you all seeing me off. You're welcome to visit me any time."

"Sweet, we have a rich friend." Joseph said to Will, who chuckled.

"Bye miss Clara! I'll miss you!" Macy called out and waved, which Clara was happy to return,

"I'll miss you too sweetie." And with that, Clara boarded the ship that arrived and rode off into the night, leaving the others behind.

"It is a shame that she had to be first." Alexandria sighed, only for Joseph to put a hand on her shoulder.

"Sure it is, but that just means we got somebody to win it for right?" He smiled, which the Lurantis returned.

"Right you are Joseph, but hopefully you can actually follow through on that." Travis interjected, walking between them, "You kids oughtta get going. Elizabeth and I need to wrap this up." Following his orders, the contestants began walking back the way they came, talking to themselves about Clara.

"And so that concludes our first episode." Elizabeth stated. "Who will be the next one out, even we don't know. Hopefully you'll stick around to find out here on StarStream City."

"I think it went well." Travis commented, which was met with a nod.

* * *

Up on the same rooftop from last time, Morgan sat, sketching something in his book. "Well that went well," He muttered to himself, "And with any luck so to will this."

"Am I interrupting?" He heard from behind him, and once again Krieg stood there.

"If it's you then I suppose you can stay." The minx replied, and unlike last time, the Garchomp remained still.

"I really must thank you for everything you said," Krieg started, "I don't think I would be standing here otherwise."

"It was nothing, I enjoyed getting those idiots to understand common sense."

"But I must ask why? That didn't benefit you in any way."

"You're my ally aren't you?" Morgan questioned, closing his book, "In that regard it did benefit me. I have somebody on my side who is going to help me remain here. It's common courtesy that I return the favor."

"I see." Krieg replied, nodding,

"Furthermore, the things being said about you were just what I hate most of all. Baseless assumptions. It infuriates me when people are so quick to judge and make opinions that they even treat as fact with nothing to go off of it." Morgan explained, as Krieg listened intently.

"You did mention that, yes. I didn't expect even you to want to save me after what was revealed." Krieg admitted, which Morgan scoffed at,

"Don't be ridiculous. While your situation is far more advanced, you were choosing to approach me even after I had earned the hatred of everybody else. Is that not the same essentially?" As he asked that, Krieg had to take a moment and think.

"I suppose it is." He said softly,

"I don't like repeating myself, but I don't see you as a bad guy." Morgan claimed, "Not until you give me reason to believe so. In a way I think we're alike. Both of us are seen as many things because of faulty delusions of others. And, as I said, you're more tolerable than everybody else."

Krieg silently nodded, before bringing something else up, "While I can't say I agree with you on my status as a bad guy, I do have a serious debt to you for saving me here. All you have to do is ask something and I am more than willing to try and provide it."

"I would say your vote is enough, but after today, I think I must also mention something else." Morgan thought, then opened his sketchbook. "I want you to tell me your story. You said I intrigue you, and the feeling is mutual. I want to know about what you've experienced, and what led you to here. Even if I didn't see you as an ally, your story could provide the inspiration I need to finish this volume."

Krieg thought about it for a minute, before nodding, "I can oblige to that." He then came over and sat down next to Morgan, before thinking.

"I guess I should start from the beginning then. I hope the details aren't too boring for you, friend." Krieg chuckled, his usual grin returning.

Morgan looked down, and allowed himself the faintest of smiles.

"No, tell me it all."

* * *

 _Remaining Contestants: Alexandria, Garth, Joseph, Krieg, Lisa Lana & Linda, Macy, Margaret, Morgan, Nora, Sydney, Tracy, Will, Winston, Yang, Dr. Sleep_

 _Eliminated Contestants: Clara_

 **And so ends Chapter Two. Did you expect the one who left? Clara is the one who had her game end right out of the gate, but why is that? To be truthful with you, she was originally planned to go much further, at one point I think I even had her in the final five or so. But as time went on I begun to realize I simply had no plans for her, and any purpose she served could be filled by somebody else in the cast, and so she went.**

 **Challenge was a bit of an odd concept, but something I felt as if would be useful in getting to know these characters a bit better, and help them be less of a blank slate. I wanted to reveal pieces of some backstory, hopefully without it feeling forced or shoved down a readers throat. To help with that I tried adding in more humorous interactions and making some truths less impactful as circle of podiums and the elimination debate later on are in no way a Danganronpa reference, nope, not even remotely.**

 **Bits of backstory for a few contestants were sprinkled in here and there, most obviously some regarding Krieg. How will this affect his game from here on out? It's quite clear that save for Morgan, most seem to be placing him on the outs of the team. And speaking of Morgan, his speeches regarding Krieg and some of his actions perhaps give a bit of a hint that there's more to him than he lets on. Hmm, what do you think?**

 **Those aside we also got little glimpses into some others, such as Macy, Margaret, Yang and even Dr. Sleep. Where will these tidbits of knowledge go I wonder? Time will only tell, so I hope you stick around to find out.**

 **See you all next time I hope, where things will hopefully be even better.**


End file.
